Oral Health & Diabetes

The interrelationship between oral health and diabetes mellitus (DM) is a growing concern. It is now established that poor oral health and DM have a bidirectional relationship: DN increases the risk of developing periodontal disease which in turn negatively affects glycaemic control which can lead to further diabetic complications. International and Australian guidelines recommend that diabetes care providers assess the oral health of people with diabetes. Currently, there is limited research being undertaken in this area and the potential role of Diabetes Care Providers in promoting oral health has not been fully explored in Australia.

The overall aim of this 4-phase project is to develop a Diabetes Oral Health (DIOH) program initiated by Diabetes Educators (DE’s) for patients. This program will incorporate oral health guidelines into diabetic care practice and will involve educating and training DNEs to provide oral health education, assessment and referrals to their patients.

Phase 1: Scoping review and designing the Diabetes Oral Health Program

Phase 2: Patients, GPs and DE’s perceptions regarding oral health and the Program

Phase 3: Developing Diabetic Oral Health program with an expert panel

Phase 4: Pilot testing the Diabetic Oral Health program

In-kind support is gratefully acknowledged from:

• Sydney Local Health District and South Western Sydney Local Health District

Project team:

• Prakash Poudel – Western Sydney University, SWSLHD, Ingham Institute

• Assoc Prof. Ajesh George – Western Sydney University, SWSLHD, University of Sydney, Ingham Institute

• Prof Rhonda Griffiths – Western Sydney University

• Dr Vincent Wing-Ming Wong – University of New South Wales

• Dr Amit Arora – Western Sydney University, Ingham Institute