Diabetes and Sleep Apnea

Since November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, we felt it was important to share another common companion of diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea. At Cooley Smiles Family Dentistry, we treat quite a number of patients with sleep apnea and provide dental devices and other therapies to help our patients with this common ailment.

As we have learned, obstructive sleep apnea is not a solitary ailment. It has a number of companion diseases (call comorbidities by experts) that vary in frequency among OSA patients. One such comorbidity is type 2 diabetes (the physiological inability to process sugar). In type 2 diabetes, production of insulin continues but the body's ability to utilize it is damaged. According to Naresh Punjabi, MD, type 2 diabetes occurs among 30 - 50 percent of OSA patients while 70 to 80 percent of type 2 diabetes patients also have OSA.

Read more about OSA and Diabetes here, and for more information about sleep apnea, visit our website.
 

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

Since people with diabetes are at a greater risk of developing some oral health problems, this is a good reminder of the importance of staying. Some of the common oral health problems associated with diabetes are: gum disease, fungal infections, infections and delayed healing. Periodontal (gum disease) is no laughing matter; it's also connected to heart disease and other health-related issues.

Our friends at www.perio.org tell us:

Diabetic patients are more likely to develop periodontal disease, which in turn can increase blood sugar and diabetic complications.

People with diabetes are more likely to have periodontal disease than people without diabetes, probably because people with diabetes are more susceptible to contracting infections. In fact, periodontal disease is often considered a complication of diabetes. Those people who don't have their diabetes under control are especially at risk.

Research has suggested that the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes goes both ways - periodontal disease may make it more difficult for people who have diabetes to control their blood sugar.

Severe periodontal disease can increase blood sugar, contributing to increased periods of time when the body functions with a high blood sugar. This puts people with diabetes at increased risk for diabetic complications

For more information and to watch a video on how diabetes can impact your oral health, visit the MouthHealthy A-Z page on Diabetes.

Ready to learn more and schedule your appointment?
We are accepting new patients, and both of our doctors at Cooley Smiles Family Dentistry in Bellevue, WA have experience in treating patients with gum disease. Give us a call today at (425) 998-6998 or visit our website for more information!