Japanese Cardiovascular Disease Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Suffer Increased Tooth Loss in Comparison to Those without Diabetes Mellitus―A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: Tooth loss is an irreversible condition that reflects the end-stage of oral diseases, including periodontitis. Although periodontitis is a major factor in the progression of diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), no previous studies have compared tooth loss in CVD patients with and without DM. METHODS: The subjects included CVD patients with (n=94) and without (n=145) DM who attended Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital. Blood examinations and periodontal measurements were performed. RESULTS: The oral and periodontal examinations revealed that the numbers of missing teeth in the DM group were increased in comparison to the non-DM group. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to the incidence of edentulism, the probing pocket depth, the clinical attachment level or the incidence of bleeding on probing. CONCLUSION: We showed that the numbers of missing teeth among CVD patients with DM was significantly higher than that among CVD patients without DM.