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Diabetes: A Multifaceted Syndrome Treatment Considerations in Dentistry
Learning Objectives

Course Author(s): Lynne H. Slim, RDH, BSDH, MSDH; Cynthia A. Stegeman, RDH, EdD, RD, LD, CDE, FAND

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the dental professional should be able to:

  • Define metabolic abnormalities related to diabetes.

  • Differentiate between the pathophysiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

  • Distinguish between DKA and HHS.

  • Determine the appropriate protocol to prevent a medical emergency during dental treatment for a patient with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

  • Analyze the dental management suggestions related to patients with uncontrolled diabetes.

  • List five questions that might be appropriate to help determine a patient’s glycemic control or disease management.

  • Explain why blood glucose levels should be less than 200 mg/dl before invasive dental treatment.

  • Describe several strategies for stabilizing blood glucose levels for dental patients.

  • Define normoglycemia in a way that a patient will understand.

  • State the three psychological factors that have been identified with successful patient education outcomes.

  • Name the two most important risk factors that are associated with increased susceptibility to periodontal disease.

  • Discuss the potential of a bidirectional relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease.

  • Identify the various environmental factors that impact periodontal disease associated with diabetes.

  • Examine the prevalence of systemic and periodontal disease(s) in the Pima Indian population group based on longitudinal study data.

  • Contrast the inevitability of risk factors for periodontal disease in type 2 diabetes with strategies to prevent periodontal disease.

  • Describe two common oral health complications of diabetes besides periodontal disease.

  • Debate the presence of oral candidiasis with different levels of glycemic control.

  • Provide recommendations to a patient with diabetes following a dental procedure that may impact their ability to eat.

  • Examine the role of parotid glands in diabetes-associated xerostomia.

  • Describe specific guidelines that dental professionals can recommend to patients following dental procedures that affect blood glucose control and/or eating ability.

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