18^th Asia-Pacific Dental and Oral Care Congress

Biography

Biography: Arup Ratan Choudhury

Abstract

New research suggests that treating periodontal disease and infection can affect a patient's glycemic control. It's vital to take a thorough medical history on a diabetic patient before dental treatment, and "know when to modify treatment and when you can do the same treatment that you'd do on a healthy patient." Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including low and middle income countries. In recent years, the prevalence of CAD increased rapidly in most of the developing countries, including Bangladesh. The world Health Organization projected that by the year 2020, CAD will be the leading cause of death in developing countries. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic condition that has become pandemic with increasing prevalence worldwide. Patients with DM often suffer from several oral and dental diseases, such as periodontal diseases, dental caries and tooth loss in addition to the existing complications of the disease. However, many of these traditional risk factors do not explain the pathophysiological etiology of CAD. Recent evidence points out at the possible role of several infectious agents, such as dental infections in the pathogenesis of CAD. The association between CAD, DM and oral health parameters has been explored in many studies in developed countries; however, data from developing countries are limited. We therefore conducted this study to assess the relationship between dental disease with CAD and DM in patients admitted at a tertiary hospital in Bangladesh. The primary goal of health care providers is to motivate patients towards better oral care. The literature relating oral disease with increased risk of systemic diseases provides additional motivation for achieving and maintaining good oral health. Physicians should also consider the oral condition of their patients and refer them to dentists as needed. However, we caution health care providers against creating a panic regarding the consequences of infected teeth. The overall evidence regarding the periodontal-systemic associations is not strong enough, and the associations may or may not be causal. More importantly, one must not recommend extracting infected teeth, based on the periodontal-systemic disease associations, if the teeth do not otherwise warrant extraction because loss of teeth and edentulousness have also been associated with increased risk of systemic diseases. Unnecessary extraction of teeth could do more harm than good. On the other hand, the members of the team responsible for systemic diseases treatment should pay attention to dental care and guidance to dental treatment, especially in the case of adult patients with diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, kidney diseases and pregnant mothers. Periodontal disease can be seen as a complication of other systemic diseases and the importance of its treatment is comparable to the treatment of other complications. Finally, co-operation and consultation between all the members of the medical & dental team responsible for the treatment of patients with systemic diseases is highly recommended.