Reduction in HbA1c levels following non-surgical periodontal therapy in type-2 diabetic patients with chronic generalized periodontitis: A periodontist's role

BACKGROUND: Aim of the study was to compare the response to non-surgical periodontal therapy between patients with and without type-2 diabetes from clinical and metabolic stand point. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative clinical study was performed between type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics with moderate generalized chronic periodontitis. The study period was six months. Conventional periodontal scaling and root planing were performed, and the response to this treatment was compared between the groups at three and six months, measuring the plaque index, bleeding index, gingival index, and probing depth. In diabetic patients, the clinical response was related to measurements of HbA1c and glucose in blood at three and six months. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Multi Variant Analysis of Variance was used to compare following variables between groups and function of time. RESULTS: Improvement in all clinical variables was observed in both the groups. The improvement observed in blood HbA1c levels in diabetic group confirmed a positive metabolic response to non-surgical periodontal treatment. CONCLUSION: With this study, we conclude that there is a definite reduction in HbA1c level in diabetic patients after conventional non-surgical periodontal treatment.