Screening for diabetes mellitus in dental practices

Point-of-care diabetes testing in the dental setting: A national scope of practice survey

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of state dental directors regarding their state's professional practice act, specifically scope of practice laws regarding point-of-care chairside screening for diabetes.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used to examine the 50 state dental directors' knowledge of policy around point-of-care diabetes testing in their state. A five-item survey instrument was designed in a web-based platform and electronically distributed in 2022.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven states (74%) responded to the survey. Regarding whether it was within the scope of practice for dentists to provide chairside point-of-care HbA1c screening, 17 states (46.0%) responded "yes," 5 states (13.5%) responded "no," and 15 states (40.5%) responded "don't know." Of the 17 states who provide diabetes testing, four states (23.5%) reported that dentists were reimbursed, nine states (53.0%) reported they were not reimbursed, and four states (23.5%) reported they did not know regarding reimbursement.

CONCLUSIONS

There is significant state heterogeneity with regard to laws, regulations, and reimbursement for chairside diabetes testing in the United States. This is accompanied by vagueness and lack of specificity in the state education laws. For more widespread promotion and adoption of this evidence-based screening, the entire dental community including clinicians, educators, policymakers, payers, and professional organizations at all levels are encouraged to work together to advocate for clarification and specificity in the language of state education laws as well as reimbursement for this vital service.

The economic and societal impact of periodontal and peri-implant diseases

Periodontal and peri-implant diseases result from a chronic inflammatory response to dysbiotic microbial communities and are characterized by inflammation in the soft tissue and the ensuing progressive destruction of supporting bone, resulting in tooth or implant loss. These diseases' high prevalence, multifactorial etiology, extensive treatment costs, and significant detriment to patients' quality-of-life underscore their status as a critical public health burden. This review delineates the economic and sociocultural ramifications of periodontal and peri-implant diseases on patient welfare and healthcare economics. We delve into the implications of diagnosis, treatment, supportive care, and managing destructive tissue consequences, contrasting these aspects with healthy patients.

Opportunistic health screening for cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors in primary care dental practices: experiences from a service evaluation and a call to action

Introduction Substantial evidence has established associations between oral health and chronic diseases, mediated by common risk factors and inflammatory processes. Dental professionals are aptly positioned to screen for cardiovascular disease and diabetes high-risk indicators. This article presents a service evaluation of two dental practices delivering health screening in dental practice, and a call to action for the wider profession.Methods Following training, two general dental practices implemented a suite of health screens, including blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio. A service evaluation was undertaken to review and improve service provision.Results Most patients (78.4%) had blood pressure values above normal range. More than half (55.8%) were outside of the healthy range for BMI. Out-of-range results for cholesterol were observed in less than one-fifth (16.7%). High blood glucose values were observed for few patients (3.3%).Conclusion Dental professionals can be successfully trained to deliver health screening interventions. Out-of-range health screening results offer an opportunity to provide targeted health advice for both the oral and general health. Clear protocols and careful interpretation of screening tests are required to minimise patients' confusion. More robust alliances between dental and general medical care are recommended.

Screening of atrial fibrillation in dental practices: a qualitative feasibility study

OBJECTIVES

To increase the detection of unknown atrial fibrillation (AF), general practitioners have started screening their patients using small hand-held devices. It is thought that dental settings could be utilized for screening as they have regular access to patients. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of dental staff of screening for AF using a hand-held electronic device in primary dental care.

METHODS

The research took place in one large mixed NHS and private general dental practice. Views from staff including dentists, dental therapists, dental nurses, and managers were elicited via semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face, audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Interviews continued until there were no new themes or patterns emerging from the data, and thematic saturation had been achieved.

RESULTS

Eleven participants were interviewed. The main themes generated were methodology for screening, acceptability for screening within the practice, attitudes to screening, and implementation of screening. Overall, participants were positive about implementing AF screening in a dental practice but expressed concerns about time and remuneration. Staff also gave encouraging feedback regarding the simplicity of the portable screening device.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants felt that AF screening in primary care dental practices was a good concept but may be challenging to implement in NHS Dentistry, especially due to the pandemic.

Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes related to periodontitis and its risk factors in elderly individuals

OBJECTIVE

The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was estimated to increase with age and can reach 3.5%. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes in the elderly patients who attended a dental clinic and to find common risk factors.

METHODS

Male patients, older than 50 years, attended their first dental visit to the School of Dentistry for a period of two years, and it was proposed to evaluate undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. Periodontal, biochemical, microbiological examinations, nutritional profile, and physical activity were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 106 patients were examined, 6 (5.6%) had diabetes, and 37 (34.9%) had prediabetes without prior diagnosis. The severity of periodontitis was greater in patients with diabetes. Most of the patients were overweight and had increased systolic blood pressure. Patients with prediabetes and periodontitis had a low adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Tannerella forsythia was present in more patients with periodontitis, and the prevalence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is practically absent in groups with periodontitis, except for the group with diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

In the population studied, the prevalence of patients without a diagnosis of diabetes and prediabetes was very high and underestimated. The increased severity of periodontitis in patients with diabetes and in conjunction with the high level of cortisol seen in patients with periodontitis, especially those with diabetes, emphasize the dysregulation of the immunoinflammatory system.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

It is essential to add all this data to our dental practice to cover patient health with a broader landscape.

Oral Health Professionals’ and Patients’ Opinions of Type-2 Diabetes Screenings in an Oral Healthcare Setting

Objectives: As part of an evaluation of an oral healthcare practice-based model that identifies patients with prediabetes or type-2 diabetes (T2D), this study reports on the experiences and opinions of oral health professionals and patients on the screening program. Methodology: Urban and rural oral healthcare practices were invited to participate. Participating practices invited eligible patients to participate in the screening program. Patients were categorised as low, intermediate, or high-risk for prediabetes/T2D. Patients in the intermediate or high-risk category were referred to their general practitioner (GP) for further investigation. Post-screening surveys were used to assess acceptability, barriers and facilitators of the screening program among participating oral health professionals (OHP) and patients. Results: The post-screening survey was completed by 135 patient, and 38 OHPs (i.e., dentists, dental hygienists, oral health therapists). the majority of OHPs (94.6%) who delivered the protocol were satisfied with the approach. Most patients reported satisfaction with the approach (73.2%) and would recommend it to others. Several barriers for implementation were identified by OHPs and patients. Conclusion: OHPs feedback indicated that the screening model was generally acceptable. The feedback from patients following their participation in this study was overwhelmingly positive, indicating that the screening protocols were accepted by patients.

Cost-Effectiveness of Screening to Identify Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes in the Oral Healthcare Setting

Background: This study assesses the long-term cost-effectiveness of this screening protocol from a healthcare system perspective. Methods: Australians presenting to private oral healthcare practices recruited to the iDENTify study were included as the study population. A Markov model preceded by a decision tree was developed to assess the intervention’s long-term cost-effectiveness when rolled out to all eligible Australians, and measured against ‘no-intervention’ current practice. The model consisted of four health states: normoglycaemia; pre-diabetes; type 2 diabetes and death. Intervention reach of various levels (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) were assessed. The model adopted a 30-year lifetime horizon and a 2020 reference year. Costs and benefits were discounted at 5% per annum. Results: If the intervention reached a minimum of 10% of the target population, over the lifetime time horizon, each screened participant would incur a cost of $38,462 and a gain of 10.564 QALYs, compared to $38,469 and 10.561 QALYs for each participant under current practice. Screening was associated with lower costs and higher benefits (a saving of $8 per person and 0.003 QALYs gained), compared to current standard practice without such screening. Between 8 and 34 type 2 diabetes cases would be avoided per 10,000 patients screened if the intervention were taken up by 10% to 40% of private oral healthcare practices. Sensitivity analyses showed consistent results. Conclusions: Implementing type 2 diabetes screening in the private oral healthcare setting using a simple risk assessment tool was demonstrated to be cost-saving. The wider adoption of such screening is recommended.

Referral Compliance Following a Diabetes Screening in a Dental Setting: A Scoping Review

With type 2 diabetes prevalence increasing in Australia, and the condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality, screening for dysglycaemia in the dental setting has been proposed to identify asymptomatic individuals. Screening commences with a risk assessment, and individuals identified at elevated risk for having diabetes are then referred to their medical practitioner for confirmation of their glycemic status. Therefore, for screening to be effective, individuals need to adhere to their oral health professionals' (OHP) advice and attend their medical follow-ups. This review aims to investigate the literature on referral compliance following a risk assessment in the dental setting and identify barriers and facilitators to screened individuals' referral compliance. A scoping review of the literature was undertaken, selecting studies of diabetes screening in a dental setting that recorded compliance to referral to follow-up, and explored any barriers and facilitators to adherence. Fourteen studies were selected. The referral compliance varied from 25 % to 90%. Six studies reported barriers and facilitators to attending medical follow-ups. Barriers identified included accessibility, cost, knowledge of the condition, and OHP characteristics.

Concordance of three point of care testing devices with clinical chemistry laboratory standard assays and patient-reported outcomes of blood sampling methods

Background

Point of care testing (POCT) devices have been developed to facilitate immediate results with the potential to aid screening for new disease and enable patients to self-monitor their disease. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the major cause of mortality globally and are increasing in prevalence as the population ages. Allied health care professionals (AHPs) are skilled in undertaking risk assessment and delivering preventative advice, providing opportunities to access large proportions of the population who may not visit their doctor, within non-traditional community settings. There is evidence of high levels of support from public, patients and health professionals for engaging AHPs in risk-targeted early case detection of certain NCDs. Thus, POCT devices offer a potential alternative to traditional venous blood collection, as novel care pathways for increasing early case detection and access to preventative care. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the concordance of the specific POCT devices with laboratory-based standard assays employed within clinical biochemistry laboratories. (ii) compare the sampling experience of both methods via patient-reported experiences.

Methods

A prospective, two-centre study was undertaken involving 158 participants who provided informed consent. Venous blood was collected for traditional assays of HbA1c, creatinine/ estimated Glomerular-Filtration-Rate (eGFR) and vitamin-D. Capillary blood was collected by finger prick test and also assayed for the same biochemical indices (Nova StatSensor (creatinine/eGFR); Siemens DCA-Vantage (HbA1C); CityAssays (vitamin-D)). All users were provided with device training. Participants reported any discomfort experienced by each simultaneously applied method (randomised in order) via a 100 mm Visual-Analogue-Scale.

Results

Results for each POCT device and the laboratory standard were analysed by Bland-Altman plots to determine assay concordance. POCT devices demonstrated good concordance with laboratory testing, with at least 95% of all samples being within two standard deviations, for each of the devices tested. The majority of participants reported less discomfort with POCT than venepuncture, with the average reported discomfort being 17/100 mm less for POCT compared to venous blood sample collection on the visual analogue scale.

Conclusions

The POCT devices demonstrated acceptable concordance with laboratory-based assays, and patients reported lower levels of discomfort compared to traditional means of blood collection. This study demonstrates the potential of using these devices as acceptable methods for opportunistic testing of “at-risk” individuals within non-traditional community care settings.

Oral health professionals screening for undiagnosed type-2 diabetes and prediabetes: the iDENTify study

BACKGROUND

As part of an evaluation of an oral healthcare practice-based model that identifies patients with prediabetes or type-2 diabetes, this study reports on the proportion of patients identified with clinically confirmed type-2 diabetes (T2D)/prediabetes and barriers of implementation of the model.

METHODOLOGY

Urban and rural oral healthcare practices were invited to participate. Participating practices invited eligible patients to participate in the screening program using the Australian Type-2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (AUSDRISK). Participants were categorised as low, intermediate, or high-risk for prediabetes/T2D. Patients in the intermediate or high-risk category were referred to their General Medical Practitioner (GP) for further investigation.

RESULTS

Fifty-one oral healthcare practices and 76 Oral Health Professionals (OHP) participated (60 Dentists, 8 Dental Hygienists, 8 Oral Health Therapists). 797 patients were screened; 102 were low-risk; 331 intermediate-risk; and 364 high-risk for T2D. Of the 695 participants in the intermediate or high-risk groups, 386 (55.5%) were referred to their GP for T2D assessment. Of them, 96 (25.0%) results were returned to OHPs. Of the returned results, six were (6.3%) diagnosed with pre-T2D.

CONCLUSION

Patients found to have undiagnosed T2D/prediabetes (6.3%) were within the expected range reported in the literature. Findings indicate that identifying individuals at an elevated risk of having or developing T2D is effective, feasible and could be incorporated into oral healthcare settings. However, this integration may require additional OHPs training and education to ensure that patients at elevated risk of T2D are referred for further assessment.

Chairside Screening for Undiagnosed Diabetes and Prediabetes in Patients with Periodontitis

Introduction

Globally, it is estimated that half of all people with diabetes are undiagnosed. Because of the well-documented bidirectional link between diabetes and periodontitis, dentists and dental hygienists may have the possibility to screen a targeted population for diabetes during routine dental visits. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of one device for diagnosis of diabetes/prediabetes used in one private dental practice and investigate the correlation between the levels of HbA1c and periodontal parameters.

Methods

Periodontal patients that were never diagnosed with diabetes were asked to fill a risk assessment questionnaire for type 2 diabetes mellitus. PD, CAL, FMBS%, FMPS%, and HbA1c through a prick-finger test were measured before and after periodontal therapy or only once in patients following supportive periodontal therapy.

Results

A total of 98 subjects were screened, and among them, one had diabetes and 30 had prediabetes. The mean value of HbA1c was 5.62% for patients with untreated periodontitis and 5.42% for periodontally treated patients. The diagnosis of diabetes resulted to be correlated to FMBS% and FMPS%, while HbA1c levels were correlated to FMBS%, FMPS%, and periodontitis grade.

Conclusion

The present chairside diabetes-screening protocol allowed a consistent proportion of patients to become aware of their pathological or prepathological condition and to seek proper and timely medical care. Thus, dentists and dental hygienists could provide health promotion services and preventive measures.

Implementation and analysis of an enhanced screening and testing protocol for prediabetes in a dental school patient population

OBJECTIVES

This project aimed to enhance the identification of patients at-risk for prediabetes or diabetes within a dental school patient population by introduction of a modified screening tool and related training of dental residents and students.

METHODS

The American Diabetes Association Risk Tool (ADART) was modified by addition of three diabetes-linked oral health questions. Of the 1477 dental patients screened, 551 (37.3%) indicated an at-risk status using the modified tool. A subset of 138 patients received follow-up chairside HbA1c blood testing conducted by dental residents and students. Data was analysed to determine a) the influence of the modifications on the tool's discrimination strength and b) change in the tool's predictive value.

RESULTS

The addition of the 3 oral health questions to the 7-item ADART resulted in a 9.4% increase in identification of patients at-risk for pre-diabetes/diabetes. The predictive value of the tool remained stable. Residents and students successfully incorporated the new screening activities within their assigned clinics.

CONCLUSIONS

This project demonstrates that screening for risk for prediabetes/diabetes is both prudent and practical in the dental setting. Dental personnel, including trainees, can successfully incorporate enhanced screening methods within their traditional activities. Further, screening tools used in the dental setting might be enhanced by inclusion of certain oral health variables associated with diabetes. These findings add to emerging knowledge on the importance of screening for prediabetes/diabetes in dental settings and have particular relevance and application to institutional practice.

The Complex Interrelationship between Diabetes Mellitus, Oral Diseases and General Health

There is emerging evidence that several oral diseases and conditions can be associated with DM. Dental caries, hyposalivation, fungal diseases and endodontics lesions may represent potential oral complications that can be aggravated by chronic hyperglycemia. Individuals with DM have a low perception of oral diseases which can lead to clinically important oral and systemic complications. This review aims to provide data on the most common oral signs and symptoms related to DM and to explore the mechanisms that might explain associations between DM and oral diseases in order to clarify the risks posed by poor oral health in DM. Since the linkage between oral diseases and DM is part of multifactorial aspects related to chronic hyperglycemic status and several common conditions affecting the whole body, both require rigorous self-control from patients and attention from medical and dental professionals.

Interprofessional diabetes and oral health management: what do primary healthcare professionals think?

Background: Diabetes and periodontitis have a bi-directional relationship. And yet, collaborations between primary healthcare practitioners in diabetes and oral health care are minimal. This study explored the views of general practice and oral health professionals on the link between diabetes and periodontitis, and interprofessional diabetes and oral health management.

Methods: A sequential mixed-methods exploratory research design was used. General practice and oral health professionals were recruited from four community health centres in Melbourne. Quantitative surveys explored participants’ experiences, attitudes and knowledge of diabetes and oral health management and interprofessional collaboration; qualitative follow-up interviews explored survey responses with selected participants.

Results: 58 participants completed the online surveys; 22 then participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants generally had strong intentions to collaborate interprofessionally in diabetes and oral health management. Most general practice and oral health professional participants were willing to perform simple screening for periodontitis or diabetes respectively. Themes from the interviews were grouped under three domains: ‘a ttitude towards diabetes and oral health management’, ‘subjective norms’ and ‘perceived behavioural control’; and an overarching domain to describe participants’ ‘current practice’. Existing siloed primary healthcare practices and lack of formal referral pathways contribute to poor interprofessional collaboration. Most participants were unsure of each other’s responsibilities and roles. Their lack of training in the relationship between general and oral health, compounded by systemic barriers including time constraint, high dental costs, long public dental waiting list and unintegrated health information systems, also impeded interprofessional care.

Conclusions: The diabetes and oral health link is not properly recognised or managed collaboratively by relevant primary healthcare professionals in Australia. There is, nonetheless, strong intentions to engage in interprofessional diabetes and oral health care to contribute to improved patient outcomes. Primary healthcare professionals need dedicated and accredited interprofessional training and competencies, formal referral systems and sustainable health policies to facilitate collaboration.

Burden of chronic diseases associated with periodontal diseases: a retrospective cohort study using UK primary care data

OBJECTIVES

To identify the association between periodontal diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis) and chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cardiometabolic disease, autoimmune disease and mental ill health.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

SETTING

IQVIA Medical Research Data-UK between 1 January 1995 and 1 January 2019.

PARTICIPANTS

64 379 adult patients with a general practitioner recorded diagnosis of periodontal disease (exposed patients) were matched to 251 161 unexposed patients by age, sex, deprivation and registration date.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Logistic regression models accounting for covariates of clinical importance were undertaken to estimate the adjusted OR (aOR) of having chronic diseases at baseline in the exposed compared with the unexposed group. Incidence rates for each outcome of interest were then provided followed by the calculation of adjusted HRs using cox regression modelling to describe the risk of outcome development in each group.

RESULTS

The average age at cohort entry was 45 years and the median follow-up was 3.4 years. At study entry, the exposed cohort had an increased likelihood of having a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (aOR 1.43; 95% CI 1.38 to 1.48), cardiometabolic disease (aOR 1.16; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.19), autoimmune disease (aOR 1.33; 95% CI 1.28 to 1.37) and mental ill health (aOR 1.79; 95% CI 1.75 to 1.83) compared with the unexposed group. During the follow-up of individuals without pre-existing outcomes of interest, the exposed group had an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (HR 1.18; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.23), cardiometabolic disease (HR 1.07; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.10), autoimmune disease (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.26 to 1.40) and mental ill health (HR 1.37; 95% CI 1.33 to 1.42) compared with the unexposed group.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort, periodontal diseases appeared to be associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular, cardiometabolic, autoimmune diseases and mental ill health. Periodontal diseases are very common; therefore, an increased risk of other chronic diseases represent a substantial public health burden.

Diabetes and Oral Health: Summary of Current Scientific Evidence for Why Transdisciplinary Collaboration Is Needed

This Perspective provides a brief summary of the scientific evidence for the often two-way links between hyperglycemia, including manifest diabetes mellitus (DM), and oral health. It delivers in a nutshell examples of current scientific evidence for the following oral manifestations of hyperglycemia, along with any available evidence for effect in the opposite direction: periodontal diseases, caries/periapical periodontitis, tooth loss, peri-implantitis, dry mouth (xerostomia/hyposalivation), dysbiosis in the oral microbiome, candidiasis, taste disturbances, burning mouth syndrome, cancer, traumatic ulcers, infections of oral wounds, delayed wound healing, melanin pigmentation, fissured tongue, benign migratory glossitis (geographic tongue), temporomandibular disorders, and osteonecrosis of the jaw. Evidence for effects on quality of life will also be reported. This condensed overview delivers the rationale and sets the stage for the urgent need for delivery of oral and general health care in patient-centered transdisciplinary collaboration for early detection and management of both hyperglycemia and oral diseases to improve quality of life.

Attitudes and opinions of Oral healthcare professionals on screening for Type-2 diabetes

Background

As part of a larger study on the identification of undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes (T2D), and prediabetes patients in dental settings, this study explored oral healthcare professionals’ (OHP) attitudes with respect to the relevance and appropriateness of screening for prediabetes/T2D in general oral healthcare settings. It also aims to gain a deeper understanding of OHPs’ concerns and perceived barriers to screening for T2D.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 OHPs: eight dentists, two dental hygienists and one oral health therapist. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Themes that emerged from the interviews were organised under three major categories: 1) Implementation: OHPs willingness to screen for prediabetes/T2D; 2) Barriers to implementation of screenings; subdivided into: a) lack of knowledge and formal training about T2D screening methodology; b) concerns about patients’ awareness and acceptance of T2D screening in oral healthcare settings; c) costs and reimbursement for the time and resources required to screen patients; and d) legal and scope of practice; and 3) Collaboration and communication between OHPs and General practitioners (GP).

Conclusions

The oral healthcare setting was considered as appropriate for medical screening, and OHPs were willing to participate in screening for prediabetes/T2D. Nonetheless, for the successful implementation of a screening programme, several barriers need to be addressed, and effective medical screening would require collaboration between oral health and medical and other health professionals, as well as clarification of legal and reimbursement issues.

Physical activity as a proxy to ameliorate inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease at high cardiovascular risk

While the beneficial impact of physical activity has been ascertained in a variety of pathological scenarios, including diabetes and low-grade systemic inflammation, its potential remains still putative for periodontal health. Periodontal disease has been associated with inflammatory systemic alterations, which share a common denominator with type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Physical exercise, along with nutritional counseling, is a cornerstone in the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes, also able to reduce the prevalence of periodontal disease and cardiovascular risk. In addition, considering the higher incidence of periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes compared to healthy controls, the fascinating research question would be whether physical activity could relieve the inflammatory pressure exerted by the combination of these two diseases. This multi-disciplinary viewpoint discusses available literature in order to argument the hypothesis of a "three-way relationship" linking diabetes, periodontitis, and physical activity.

Bidirectional association between periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

Periodontal disease has been reported to be associated with diabetes mellitus. However, the direction of the association and the influence of bias are not clear. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize the existing evidence on the bidirectional prospective association between periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus by accounting for the risk of bias of the original studies. The literature search was conducted on the electronic data sources PubMed and Web of Science up to February 9th, 2021. We included observational studies, which investigated the prospective association between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease or vice versa. The risk of bias of the primary studies was evaluated by applying the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. Random effects models were used to calculate summary relative risk (SRR) with 95% CI. Subgroup analyses were applied to investigate heterogeneity and the robustness of the finding. In total, 15 studies were included . The SRR for incident diabetes mellitus was 1.26 (95% CI 1.12, 1.41; I²: 71%, n = 10; participants = 427,620; identified cases = 114,361), when comparing individuals with periodontitis to individuals without periodontitis. The SRR for incident periodontitis was 1.24 (95% CI 1.13, 1.37; I²: 92%, n = 7; participants = 295,804; identified cases: > 22,500), comparing individuals with diabetes to individuals without diabetes. There were no significant differences between subgroups after stratification for risk of bias. The findings show a positive bidirectional association between periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus, and thus, underline the need for screening of patients with periodontitis regarding diabetes mellitus and vice versa. The main limitation of the study is the high unexplained heterogeneity between the studies including the different assessment methods of the disease diagnosis.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Medical-Dental Integration to Close Preventive and Disease Management Care Gaps

Background

The integration of medical care into the dental setting has been shown to facilitate the closure of care gaps among patients with unmet needs. However, little is known about whether program effectiveness varies depending on whether the care gap is related to preventive care or disease management.

Materials and Methods

We used a matched cohort study design to compare closure of care gaps between patients aged 65+ who received care at a Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) Medical-Dental Integration (MDI) clinic or a non-MDI dental clinic between June 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. The KPNW MDI program focuses on closing 12 preventive (e.g., flu vaccines) and 11 disease management care gaps (e.g., HbA1c testing) within the dental setting. Using the multivariable logistic regression, we separately analyzed care gap closure rates (yes vs. no) for patients who were overdue for: (1) preventive services only (n = 1,611), (2) disease management services only (n = 538), or (3) both types of services (n = 429), analyzing closure of each care gap type separately. All data were obtained through the electronic health record of KPNW.

Results

The MDI patients had significantly higher odds of closing preventive care gaps (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.30-1.75) and disease management care gaps (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.27-2.15) than the non-MDI patients when they only had care gaps of one type or the other. However, no significant association was found between MDI and care gap closure when patients were overdue for both care gap types.

Conclusions

Patients with care gaps related to either preventive care or disease management who received dental care in an MDI clinic had higher odds of closing these care gaps, but we found no evidence that MDI was helpful for those with both types of care gaps.

Practical Implications

MDI may be an effective model for facilitating the delivery of preventive and disease management services, mainly when patients are overdue for one type of these services. Future research should examine the impact of MDI on long-term health outcomes.

Comparison of Point-of-Care Testing and Hospital-Based Methods in Screening for Potential Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Abnormal Glucose Regulation in a Dental Setting

This study aimed to compare the screening methods between point-of-care (POC) testing and hospital-based methods for potential type 2 DM and abnormal glucose regulation (AGR) in a dental setting. A total of 274 consecutive subjects who attended the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, were selected. Demographic data were collected. HbA_1c was assessed using a finger prick blood sample and analyzed with a point-of-care (POC) testing machine (DCA Vantage^®). Hyperglycemia was defined as POC HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%. Random blood glucose (RBG) was also evaluated using a glucometer (OneTouch^® SelectSimple™) and hyperglycemia was defined as RBG ≥ 110 mg/dl or ≥140 mg/dl. The subjects were then sent for laboratory measurements for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and HbA_1c. The prevalence of AGR (defined as FPG ≥ 100 mg/dl or laboratory HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%) and potential type 2 DM (defined as FPG ≥ 126 mg/dl or laboratory HbA_1c ≥ 6.5%) among subjects was calculated and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using FPG and HbA_1c for the diagnosis of AGR and potential type 2 DM. The prevalence of hyperglycemia defined as POC HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%, RBG ≥ 110 mg/dl, and RBG ≥ 140 mg/dl was 49%, 63%, and 32%, respectively. After the evaluation using laboratory measurements, the prevalence of AGR was 25% and 17% using laboratory FPG and HbA_1c criteria, respectively. Based on the ROC curves, the performances of POC HbA_1c and RBG in predicting FPG-defined potential type 2 DM were high (AUC = 0.99; 95% CI 0.98–0.99 and AUC = 0.94; 95% CI 0.86–1.0, respectively) but lower in predicting AGR (AUC = 0.72; 95% CI 0.67–0.78 and AUC = 0.65; 95% CI 0.59–0.70, respectively). This study suggested that POC testing might be a potential tool for screening of subjects with potential type 2 DM in a dental setting.

Longitudinal Observation of Outcomes and Patient Access to Integrated Care Following Point-of-Care Glycemic Screening in Community Health Center Dental Safety Net Clinics

Introduction: Rates of diabetes/prediabetes continue to increase, with disparity populations disproportionately affected. Previous field trials promoted point-of-care (POC) glycemic screening in dental settings as an additional primary care setting to identify potentially at-risk individuals requiring integrated care intervention. The present study observed outcomes of POC hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) screening at community health center (CHC) dental clinics (DC) and compliance with longitudinal integrated care management among at-risk patients attending dental appointments. Materials and Methods: POC HbA1c screening utilizing Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved instrumentation in DC settings and periodontal evaluation of at-risk dental patients with no prior diagnosis of diabetes/prediabetes and no glycemic testing in the preceding 6 months were undertaken. Screening of patients attending dental appointments from October 24, 2017, through September 24, 2018, was implemented at four Wisconsin CHC-DCs serving populations with a high representation of disparity. Subjects meeting at-risk profiles underwent POC HbA1c screening. Individuals with measures in the diabetic/prediabetic ranges were advised to seek further medical evaluation and were re-contacted after 3 months to document compliance. Longitudinal capture of glycemic measures in electronic health records for up to 2 years was undertaken for a subset (n = 44) of subjects with available clinical, medical, and dental data. Longitudinal glycemic status and frequency of medical and dental access for follow-up care were monitored. Results: Risk assessment identified 224/915 (24.5%) patients who met inclusion criteria following two levels of risk screening, with 127/224 (57%) qualifying for POC HbA1c screening. Among those tested, 62/127 (49%) exhibited hyperglycemic measures: 55 in the prediabetic range and seven in the diabetic range. Moderate-to-severe periodontitis was more prevalent in patients with prediabetes/diabetes than in individuals with measures in the normal range. Participant follow-up compliance at 3 months was 90%. Longitudinal follow-up documented high rates of consistent access (100 and 89%, respectively), to the integrated medical/DC environment over 24 months for individuals with hyperglycemic screening measures. Conclusion: POC glycemic screening revealed elevated HbA1c measures in nearly half of at-risk CHC-DC patients. Strong compliance with integrated medical/dental management over a 24-month interval was observed, documenting good patient receptivity to POC screening in the dental setting and compliance with integrated care follow-up by at-risk patients.

Attitude of Physicians towards Periodontal Disease and Diabetes Mellitus Screening in Dental Clinics in Thailand

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the top causes of death in many places of the world. Diagnosing DM in the early stage is necessary to avoid severe cases and death.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the knowledge of association between DM and periodontal disease (PD) among Thai physicians and assess their attitudes towards DM screening in dental clinics in Thailand.

METHODS

Online survey of currently practicing physicians in Thailand was conducted on voluntary basis using the newly developed questionnaire.

RESULT

We received 403 responses that are statistically sufficient to represent the entire population of currently practicing physicians in Thailand. A total of 97.3% of all responses indicate that Thai physicians have knowledge about the association between DM and PD. More than 90% know that DM has an effect on PD; however, 70% know about the effect of untreated PD in DM patients. Most of physicians think that DM screening in dental clinics is important (79.1%) and are ready to accept referred cases for definite DM diagnosis from a dentist (84.1%). The concerned issues among the participants were the accuracy of the test results in DM screening (73%) and ability of a dentist to perform the screening (71.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of participating physicians have adequate knowledge about the bidirectional relationship between DM and PD. They have a positive attitude towards DM screening in dental setting. The collaboration between physicians and dental professionals should be established to reduce the number of undiagnosed DM patients and enhance the medical care of DM patients.

Periodontitis and identification of undiagnosed hyperglycemia

Abstract Introduction Individuals with pre-diabetes have altered glycemic levels, are generally asymptomatic, and are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Objective Identify the prevalence of periodontal individuals with undiagnosed hyperglycemia and associated impact factors. Material and method Fifty-six patients with periodontitis and without diabetes self-report, users of dental clinic services at Federal University of Juiz de Fora were included in this research, during one year and a half of experimental evaluation. Socioeconomic and demographic data, anthropometric patterns, fasting capillary blood glucose, and complete periodontal examination (six sites per tooth) were evaluated. Result The sample consisted of 58.9% female, mean age 53 years old, 58.9% obese/overweight and 45.3% had a low level of education. A total of 28.6% (n=16) participants had undiagnosed hyperglycemia (between 100 to 160 mm / dL), of which 81.3% were obese/overweight, 25% were smokers, 56.3% reported having a history of diabetes in the family, 93.8% had a family income up to 2 brazilian´s minimum wages. BMI values were higher in the group of patients with hyperglycemia (29.8 ± 5.7, p = 0.03) compared to the group without hyperglycemia (26.6 ± 5.6). Patients with hyperglycemia had a greater number of sites with clinical attachment loss (CAL) between 4 and 6 mm (p = 0.04) when compared with the normoglycemic group. Conclusion Undiagnosed CAL attachment loss between 4 and 6 mm due to periodontitis than normoglycemic individuals.

Periodontal disease, undiagnosed diabetes, and body mass index: Implications for diabetes screening by dentists

BACKGROUND

Periodontal disease and diabetes are widespread comorbid conditions that are detrimental to oral and overall health. Dentists' performing chairside screenings for undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (UDM) can be beneficial to both patients and providers. The authors determined UDM rates in a population-based study and whether UDM and periodontal disease were independently associated.

METHODS

Data from 7,343 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study visit 4 were used to determine rates of UDM by periodontal status, edentulism, and body mass index. The authors used a χ2 test or analysis of variance, along with a 2-stage logistic regression model, to determine relationships with UDM. UDM was defined as no self-reported diabetes and blood glucose levels (fasting glucose ≥ 126 milligrams/deciliter or nonfasting glucose > 200 mg/dL). Periodontal disease was defined using the Periodontal Profile Classes system adapted to stages and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Periodontology index.

RESULTS

UDM rates overall were 5.6%. The highest rates occurred in patients who were obese and edentulous (12.6%) and obese and had severe periodontal disease (12.2%). Significant associations were found for UDM and severe periodontal disease (Periodontal Profile Classes system stage IV) (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 to 2.88). Edentulism was significantly associated with UDM in the Periodontal Profile Classes system model (odds ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.27 to 2.75) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Periodontology index (odds ratio, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 2.67). Hyperglycemia was found in participants of all body mass index categories.

CONCLUSIONS

UDM is significantly associated with obesity, edentulism, and periodontitis. These characteristics could help dentists identify patients at higher risk of developing DM. Patients without these characteristics still have UDM, so dentists performing chairside diabetes screening for all patients would yield additional benefit.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Dental offices are a major point of contact within the US health care system. Diabetes screening in this setting can provide important health information with direct relevance to patient care.

Screening of undiagnosed hyperglycaemia in the dental setting: The DiabetRisk study. A field trial

AIM

To evaluate the efficacy of different screening protocols for undiagnosed hyperglycaemia in a Research Network of Dental Clinics coordinated by the Spanish Society of Periodontology (SEPA).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 1143 patients were included in the study. Participants filled a questionnaire considering diabetes risk factors (FINDRISC) and received a periodontal screening examination. Patients with a slightly elevated score according to the Findrisc (≥7), received a point-of-care HbA1c and were eventually referred to their physician for confirmatory diagnosis. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the performance of various predictive models with confirmed hyperglycaemia as outcome.

RESULTS

From this population, 97 (8.5%) were finally diagnosed of diabetes (n = 28; 2.5%) or prediabetes (n = 69; 6.0%). When only including the results from the FINDRISC questionnaire, the model reported an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.866 (95% confidence interval - CI [0.833; 0.900]). This model significantly improved when a basic periodontal examination (EPB Code; AUC = 0.876; 95% CI [0.845: 0.906]; p = .042) or a point-of-care HbA1c were added (AUC = 0.961; 95% CI [0.941; 0.980]; p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The tested protocol, combining the FINDRISC questionnaire and a point-of-care HbA1c, showed to be feasible when carried out in a dental clinic setting and was efficient to identify subjects with undiagnosed diabetes or prediabetes.

Prediabetes/diabetes screening strategy at the periodontal clinic

Objective

The aim of the study was to propose an efficient chairside clinical strategy for the identification of undiagnosed hyperglycaemia in periodontal clinics.

Material and methods

Α chairside system was used for assessment of glycated hemoglobin 1c (HbA1c) and active Matrix Metalloproteinase‐8 levels (aMMP‐8) were analyzed by immunotest in patients (n = 150) who fulfilled the criteria for screening of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full‐mouth periodontal parameters were assessed and various data such as Body Mass Index (BMI), smoking and education were recorded.

Results

Thirty‐one patients out of 150 tested were found with unknown hyperglycaemia (20.7%). Regarding sex, education, parent with diabetes, normal BMI, smoking, age ≥45 years and prior testing for diabetes, no differences were observed between subjects displaying HbA1c < 5.7 and ≥5.7% (Pearson's Chi‐square test, p > .05). Subgroups differed regarding BMI (kg/m²), tooth count, percentages of 4 and 5 mm pockets (Mann–Whitney and z‐test, p < .05). The diagnostic performance for HbA1c ≥5.7 was tested by Receiving Operator Characteristic curves and Areas Under the Curve (AUC) for the following: age ≥ 45 years and BMI (AUC 0.651, p = .010), the above and aMMP‐8 (AUC 0.660, p = .006), age ≥ 45 years, BMI and Stage of Periodontitis (AUC 0.711, p < .001) and age ≥ 45 years, BMI, aMMP‐8 and stage of periodontitis (AUC 0.713, p < .001).

Conclusions

Findings of the study suggest that the combination of stage of periodontitis, increasing age, BMI and aMMP‐8, without chairside HbA1c assessment appears to be a viable screening strategy for referring dental patients for testing for prediabetes/diabetes.

Periodontal Disease as a Predictor of Undiagnosed Diabetes or Prediabetes in Dental Patients

OBJECTIVES

 The study investigates whether periodontal parameters can identify subjects with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) or pre-DM in patients seeking dental treatment at a university dental hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 Adults older than 35 years, not being diagnosed with DM before and have at least one of the risk factors of DM were included in the study. All subjects received a complete periodontal examination, filled a medical history survey, and a fasting blood glucose measurement was obtained. A multiple logistic regression test using a backward elimination method to assess factors that predict if the participant is healthy, prediabetic or diabetic was done. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

 A total of 61 subjects were enrolled with an average age of 42.9 ± 9.4 years. Having a family member diagnosed with DM was reported by 64.5% of the subjects; 59% were diagnosed with advanced periodontal disease. The final logistic regression model included smoking, hypertension, family history of DM, and percentage of clinical attachment loss >3 mm was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The model explained 47.7% of the diabetes condition and correctly classified 69.4% of cases. Participants with a family history of diabetes are 4.98 times more likely to exhibit prediabetic or diabetic status. Each unit increase in the percentage of clinical attachment loss increases the likelihood of participant to be prediabetic or diabetic by 1.104 times.

CONCLUSION

 Dental patients presenting with severe clinical attachment loss and family history of DM have increased likelihood of undiagnosed DM or pre-DM and would benefit from screening at the dental office.

Evaluation of a questionnaire-based diabetes screening concept in German patients with Stage III or IV periodontitis: A practice-based study

BACKGROUND

This practice-based retrospective study evaluated a screening method for diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with Stage III or IV periodontitis using the FINDRISC questionnaire.

METHODS

Patients with Stage III or IV periodontitis who received FINDRISC screening in a German private dental practice were recruited. Individuals with positive FINDRISC scores (≥12, FINDRISC+) were referred for diabetological examination. Several general and periodontal findings from the patients' documentation were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 179 patients (52.65 ± 11.49 years) were included. In DM screening, 24.6% (n = 44) patients were FINDRISC+, including all patients with currently known DM (21 of 21). Of the remaining FINDRISC+ patients, 82.6% (19 of 23) visited their general practitioner, and 63.2% (12 of 19, 7.6% of total cohort) had an HbA1c ≥5.7%. Accordingly, 75% of the FINDRISC+ patients were diabetologically conspicuous (HbA1c ≥ 5.7%), including those with already known DM. Patients with previously unknown DM showed higher mean age, more missing teeth, a higher periodontitis stage (more Stage IV) and more frequently teeth with suppuration compared with the diabetologically inconspicuous individuals (P <0.01).

CONCLUSION

The FINDRISC questionnaire is appropriate for patients with Stage III or IV periodontitis and can be recommended in dental practice setting.

Patient acceptability of targeted risk-based detection of non-communicable diseases in a dental and pharmacy setting

Background

Non-communicable diseases [NCDs] are the major cause of mortality globally and are increasing in prevalence. Different healthcare professionals’ access different population groups; and engaging allied healthcare professionals in risk-driven early case detection of certain NCDs may be beneficial, especially those who have not been tested for NCDs within the previous 12 months.

The objectives of this study were to determine: whether NCD case finding in dental/community pharmacy settings is feasible in terms of patient acceptability, barriers to recruitment, impact on the existing service. Determine time taken to test for: type 2 diabetes risk [T2DM], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], hypertension, vitamin D deficiency and chronic kidney disease [CKD]. Determine whether there is added benefit of point of care testing [POCT] to identify diabetes risk compared to a validated screening questionnaire alone.

Methods

An exploratory study was undertaken to explore issues associated with NCD assessment in one dental practice and one community pharmacy within the West-Midlands, UK. Fifty patients > 40 years-of-age were recruited per site. Participants undertook: a questionnaire providing demographic data, any previous NCD diagnosis or positive family history. Validated questionnaires for determining NCD risk [T2DM/COPD]. Chair-side capillary blood [finger-prick] samples for HbA1C, creatinine/eGFR, Vitamin-D.

Prior work had been undertaken to measure the agreement between point of care testing [POCT] devices and a central laboratory method, and to gauge the opinions of participants regarding discomfort experienced using venous (antecubital fossa) and capillary (finger-prick) blood collection, via a 10 cm Visual-Analogue-Scale. The POCT devices demonstrated good concordance with laboratory testing and were acceptable methods of blood collection for participants.

Results

Recruitment rates demonstrated that 8 days were needed to recruit 50 participants and 60% of those approached opted to participate. The principal barrier to participation was time, with average time taken to test being 19mins. Utilising dental and pharmacy settings identified potential cases of previously undiagnosed disease.

Conclusions

Risk-targeted testing for NCDs in high street dental and community pharmacies is both attractive and acceptable to patients.

Use of dental practices for the identification of adults with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus or non-diabetic hyperglycaemia: a systematic review

AIM

Type 2 diabetes is a growing global challenge. Evidence exists demonstrating the use of primary care (non-hospital based) dental practices to identify, through risk assessments, those who may be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes or who may already unknowingly have the condition. This review aimed to synthesize evidence associated with the use of primary care dental services for the identification of undiagnosed non-diabetic hyperglycaemia or type 2 diabetes in adults, with particular focus on the pick-up rate of new cases.

METHOD

Electronic databases were searched for studies reporting the identification of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia/type 2 diabetes in primary care dental settings. Returned articles were screened and two independent reviewers completed the data-extraction process. A descriptive synthesis of the included articles was undertaken due to the heterogeneity of the literature returned.

RESULTS

Nine studies were identified, the majority of which utilized a two-stage risk-assessment process with risk score followed by a point-of-care capillary blood test. The main barriers cited were cost, lack of adequate insurance cover and people having previously been tested elsewhere. The pick-up rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic hyperglycaemia varied greatly between studies, ranging from 1.7% to 24% for type 2 diabetes and from 23% to 45% for non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, where reported.

CONCLUSION

This review demonstrates that although it appears there may be benefit in using the dental workforce to identify undiagnosed cases of non-diabetic hyperglycaemia and type 2 diabetes, further high-quality research in the field is required assessing both the clinical and cost effectiveness of such practice. (Prospero Registration ID: PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018098750).

Prevalence of Undiagnosed Diabetes and Prediabetes in the Dental Setting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

With the close link between diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontal disease (PD), dentists have an unrealized opportunity to make a chance discovery of a patient's medical condition. Unlike in the medical setting, information on the point of care (PoC) and opportunistic screening for DM in the dental setting is limited. To make a reliable estimate on the prevalence of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prediabetes among dental patients in the dental setting and to assist healthcare planners in making an informed decision, information on the disease frequency and strategies employed to address this issue is of paramount importance.

Objectives

To summarize the data on the prevalence of undiagnosed T2DM and prediabetes amongst dental patients and further explore the effectiveness of the PoC screening and its implication for use in the dental setting.

Methods

A MEDLINE-PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library search was conducted with no time specification. Information on study characteristics and diagnostic parameters was retrieved for meta-analysis. All the studies were assessed for methodological quality using the QUADAS-2 tool. Proportions were presented in tables and forest plots. All statistical analysis was performed using the MedCalc software.

Results

Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The proportion of dental patients identified to be at a risk of hyperglycaemia with the PoC screening using random blood glucose (RBG) and HbA1 was 32.47% and 40.10%, whilst the estimated proportion with undiagnosed T2DM and prediabetes was identified as 11.23% and 47.38%.

Conclusion

A significant proportion of dental patients can be identified as undiagnosed T2DM and prediabetes. Targeted opportunistic screening is a feasible approach and can help reduce the prevalence of undiagnosed T2DM and prediabetes.

Chronic Disease Counseling and Screening by Dental Professionals: Results From NHANES, 2011-2016

INTRODUCTION

Dental visits may provide an opportunity to counsel and screen for chronic disease prevention. However, few studies have used nationally representative data to assess the potential role of dental professionals in chronic disease prevention. We examined the percentage of US adults who reported chronic disease counseling and screening by dental professionals.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2016 for 5,541 participants aged 30 or older who reported seeing a dental professional in the past year and estimated the percentage who reported receiving counseling about selected chronic disease prevention during the visit. We used logistic regressions to examine associations between risk factors and counseling.

RESULTS

Overall, 4.0% (standard error [SE], 0.3) of adults were told by a dental professional about the benefits of checking blood glucose, 42.4% (SE, 2.9) giving up tobacco (among tobacco users), 26.6% (SE, 1.2) about checking for oral cancer, and 43.0% (SE, 1.8) had an oral cancer examination. Groups with risk factors were more likely to receive health behavior counseling than those without (eg, those previously told they had diabetes risk factors were more likely to receive blood glucose counseling than those without [8.1% vs 3.3%, P < .05]). The pattern for oral cancer counseling and receiving an oral cancer examination was different: adults without oral cancer risk factors (no tobacco use, normal/underweight, and/or excellent/very good health) were more likely to receive oral cancer counseling or screening. Adjusted analyses did not change these associations.

CONCLUSION

Most adults were not counseled about chronic disease prevention during a visit with a dental professional. Current tobacco users and those with overweight or obesity were more likely to report receiving counseling.

Diabetes Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice - A Survey Among Oral Health Professionals in Victoria, Australia

Purpose

Until now, little is known as to how well the evidence supporting the link between periodontal disease and diabetes is incorporated in the dental practice, in Australia. This study aims to explore Oral health Professionals (OHP) knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) towards diabetes screening in the dental setting.

Methods

The survey questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic, practice characteristics and Likert scaled questions categorised in different domains of KAP and one additional domain as barriers. A Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to determine differences in the OHP response. To predict if practice behavior was influenced by knowledge and attitudes, a multiple linear regression was conducted.

Results

A total of 197 respondents were included in the analysis of the results. General dentists constituted 64.6% of the response. For chairside screening of diabetes, 58% felt it was essential and 70% felt it was appropriate. More public sector OHP (79%) felt it is important to conduct chairside screening for T2DM. Patient willingness was identified as the most important and insurance coverage as the least important (43%) consideration for T2DM screening.

Conclusion

Overall, knowledge, attitude and practice towards DM were positive, but a significant proportion of the OHP felt chairside screening may not be appropriate or important.

IDF Diabetes Atlas: Diabetes and oral health - A two-way relationship of clinical importance

The current scientific evidence for the bi-directional associations between oral health and diabetes is summarized. The universal biologic mechanisms and demographic and behavioral risk drivers underlying these associations in both directions are also described. Dysglycemia, even slightly elevated blood sugar levels, adversely affects oral health, manifesting itself in several oral diseases and conditions. In the opposite direction, any oral infection with its subsequent local and systemic inflammatory responses adversely affects blood glucose levels. Moreover, painful, mobile, or missing teeth may lead to intake of soft food items representing a sub-optimal diet and hence poor nutrition, and thereby contribute to incident type 2 diabetes or to poorer glucose control in existing diabetes. Treatment of inflammation related oral conditions, such as non-surgical periodontal treatment and extraction of infected teeth, can lead to a clinically significant decrease in blood glucose levels. Attention to infectious oral diseases and referral to dental care professionals for treatment can therefore be an important novel tool for medical care professionals in preventing and managing diabetes mellitus. Dental professionals can detect unrecognized potential dysglycemia and refer for medical examination. Such interprofessional, patient centered care may contribute to improved health, wellbeing, and quality of life in people with diabetes.

Development of non-invasive diabetes risk prediction models as decision support tools designed for application in the dental clinical environment

The objective was to develop a predictive model using medical-dental data from an integrated electronic health record (iEHR) to identify individuals with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) in dental settings. Retrospective data retrieved from Marshfield Clinic Health System's data-warehouse was pre-processed prior to conducting analysis. A subset was extracted from the preprocessed dataset for external evaluation (Nvalidation) of derived predictive models. Further, subsets of 30%-70%, 40%-60% and 50%-50% case-to-control ratios were created for training/testing. Feature selection was performed on all datasets. Four machine learning (ML) classifiers were evaluated: logistic regression (LR), multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector machines (SVM) and random forests (RF). Model performance was evaluated on Nvalidation. We retrieved a total of 5319 cases and 36,224 controls. From the initial 116 medical and dental features, 107 were used after performing feature selection. RF applied to the 50%-50% case-control ratio outperformed other predictive models over Nvalidation achieving a total accuracy (94.14%), sensitivity (0.941), specificity (0.943), F-measure (0.941), Mathews-correlation-coefficient (0.885) and area under the receiver operating curve (0.972). Future directions include incorporation of this predictive model into iEHR as a clinical decision support tool to screen and detect patients at risk for DM triggering follow-ups and referrals for integrated care delivery between dentists and physicians.

Does Medicaid Coverage Modify the Relationship between Glycemic Status and Teeth Present in Older Adults?

Understanding the relationships among diabetes, teeth present, and dental insurance is essential to improving primary and oral health care. Participants were older adults who attended senior centers in northern Manhattan (New York, N.Y.). Sociodemographic, health, and health care information were obtained via intake interviews, number of teeth present via clinical dental examinations, and glycemic status via measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Complete data on dental insurance coverage status for 785 participants were available for analysis (1,015 after multiple imputation). For participants with no dental insurance and any private/other dental insurance, number of teeth present is less for participants with diabetes than for participants without diabetes; however, for participants with Medicaid coverage only, the relationship is reversed. Potential explanations include the limited range of dental services covered under the Medicaid program, inadequate diabetes screening and monitoring of Medicaid recipients, and the poor oral and general health of Medicaid recipients.

Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes in chronic periodontitis patients assessed by an HbA1c chairside screening protocol

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the present study was to implement a chairside diabetes screening strategy for the identification of undiagnosed hyperglycaemia in periodontal patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Measurement of HbA1c was performed in patients (n = 139) diagnosed with periodontal disease to determine possible unknown hyperglycaemia. Patients fulfilled the criteria for screening according to the questionnaire by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Cobas® b101 in vitro diagnostic system was used for the measurement of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in capillary blood. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were also measured to determine splanchnic obesity. Periodontal parameters were assessed with an automated probe and included probing depth, clinical attachment loss, bleeding on probing and presence/absence of plaque.

RESULTS

Most patients had moderate periodontitis. Almost 25% of the subjects tested were found to have unknown hyperglycaemia while 80.5% of them had splanchnic obesity. A significant association was found between HbA1c and BMI (Mann-Whitney test; p = 0.0021) as well as between HbA1c and waist circumference (Spearman rho test; p = 0.0007). No differences were observed regarding periodontal parameters between subjects exhibiting HbA1c ≥ 5.7% and those with HbA1c < 5.7% (Mann-Whitney test; p > 0.05) although those with HbA1c ≥ 5.7% displayed higher proportions of sites with clinical attachment loss > 5 mm (z test with Bonferroni corrections; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Periodontal patients, especially those with a bigger than normal BMI and waist circumference, are a target group worth screening for diabetes.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The dental practitioner can contribute significantly to the worldwide effort of health care professionals in diabetes screening and referring for early diagnosis of the disease.

Prediabetes and Diabetes Screening in Dental Care Settings: NHANES 2013 to 2016

Introduction

Early recognition of prediabetes may prevent progression to diabetes, yet not all adults are aware of their prediabetes risk. To reach all adults unaware of their risk, additional risk assessment strategies are warranted.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential scope of benefit from prediabetes risk assessment in the dental care setting and to identify characteristics of dental patients likely to unknowingly have prediabetes or diabetes.

Methods

Data from 10,472 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2013 to 2014 and 2015 to 2016 were analyzed for associations among prediabetes/diabetes risk factors, health care use, and hemoglobin A1C levels according to chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

A total of 7.73% of US adults had seen a dentist but not a medical provider in the past 12 mo. The composition of this subpopulation was significantly different from that who saw a medical provider, in ways that might affect their diabetes risk. In addition, 31.27% of this subpopulation would be identified as being at high risk for prediabetes according to the CDC Prediabetes Screening Test (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and 15.83% had hemoglobin A1C levels indicative of undiagnosed prediabetes or diabetes. Screening in a dental setting would have the highest odds of identifying someone unaware of his or her diabetes risk among those who were non-White, obese, or ≥45 y old.

Conclusion

Extrapolation from this analysis indicates that screening for prediabetes at dental visits has the potential to alert an estimated 22.36 million adults of their risk for prediabetes or diabetes. Incorporating prediabetes or diabetes risk assessment into routine dental visits may enable 1) those with prediabetes to take action to decrease their risk of developing diabetes and 2) those with diabetes to engage in treatment to decrease their risk of diabetes-related complications.

Knowledge Transfer Statement

Screening for prediabetes and diabetes during dental visits has the potential to raise patients' awareness of diabetes risk and prevent prediabetes from progressing to diabetes. For some patients, the dental visit may be the only point of contact with the health care system, which heightens the importance of including diabetes risk assessment for patient well-being.

Patient perceptions of healthy weight promotion in dental settings

INTRODUCTION

Excess weight is a risk factor for systemic and oral diseases. Since dental professionals are already involved in imparting overall health messages when certain conditions impact oral health, it should make sense that they also deliver related health messages such as promoting the maintenance of healthy weight for patients.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the perceptions of adult patients attending private dental clinics on healthy weight promotion by dental professionals.

METHODS

A cross-sectional multicenter survey was designed and set in four private dental clinics (London/Hampshire) between April and July 2015. All eligible patients (≥ 18 years) completed a questionnaire. Body Mass Index (BMI; kg/m²) was calculated from height and weight measurements. Questionnaire content was centred on patient perceptions of 6 domains with the primary domain as to whether patients would accept healthy weight promotion by dental professionals.

RESULTS

213 adults (aged 20-85 years) participated in this study and 58.2% were females. Although the overwhelming majority endorsed healthy weight promotion by the dental team, the overweight/obese were significantly more sensitive (BMI screening χ2 trend = 6.840, p = 0.009; healthy weight information χ2 trend = 6.231, p = 0.013). Awareness of risk of periodontitis, carcinoma and overall adverse health outcomes associated with overweight or obesity was low.

CONCLUSION

The study cohort was well primed for healthy weight advice. Routine healthy weight promotion and BMI screening should be considered in the private dental clinic settings.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

This is an opportunity to collaborate with other health care professionals to support overall health monitoring/advice; a common risk factor strategy as recommended by the WHO. Future research is merited for this new initiative particularly perceptions of: dental teams' on healthy weight management, longitudinal interventions, NHS, children/parents and separate obese groups.

Screening for dysglycaemia in dental primary care practice settings: systematic review of the evidence

INTRODUCTION

Increasing prevalence of diabetes and periodontal disease is prompting identification of additional clinical settings to identify patients at risk for dysglycaemia. A systematic review of studies that have examined feasibility of screening for at-risk patients in general dentistry settings at point-of-care (POC) was undertaken.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Systematic review of pragmatic clinical field trials piloting POC screening for dysglycaemia risk in dental settings was undertaken in studies whose primary objective was to explore rates of dysglycaemia among undiagnosed patient populations.

RESULTS

Among 17 dental clinical field trials identified, 10 were systematically reviewed. High rates of undiagnosed dysglycaemia were detected among dental patients by biological screening in all trials. Notably, substantive differences in study design and population characteristics were identified, precluding meta-analysis.

CONCLUSION

Screening for dysglycaemia in dental offices effectively identified high-risk patients requiring triage for glycaemic management. Considerations for future clinical trial design were advanced to establish an evidence base amenable to meta-analysis of the relative translational value of glycaemic screening in dental settings.

Use of Dental Practices for the Identification of Adults With Undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus or Nondiabetic Hyperglycemia: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing global health burden and is expected to affect more than 590 million people by the year 2035. Evidence exists to demonstrate that dental settings have been used for risk assessment and identification of individuals who may be at high risk for T2DM or who may already unknowingly have the condition.

Objective

This protocol aims to outline the methodology that will be undertaken to synthesize the literature relating to the use of primary care (nonhospital-based) dental services for the identification of undiagnosed T2DM or prediabetes—often termed nondiabetic hyperglycemia—in adult patients.

Methods

This paper outlines the protocol that will be followed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature. The protocol outlines the aims, objectives, search strategy, data extraction and data management methods, as well as the statistical analysis plan. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines were followed in developing the protocol as were elements of the Cochrane handbook.

Results

We expect the systematic review to be completed within 18 months of publication of this protocol and expect to see a high degree of heterogeneity in the existing literature.

Conclusions

This review is of importance as it will synthesize the existing evidence base and inform future studies in the field. Following the publication of the protocol, the review will be registered on Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Following the completion of the review, results will be published in a suitable peer-reviewed journal.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/11843

Patients' attendance patterns to different healthcare settings and perceptions of stakeholders regarding screening for chronic, non-communicable diseases in high street dental practices and community pharmacy: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) impose a significant health and economic burden. This study aimed to assess the differential attendance patterns of public to different healthcare professionals and gauge the opinions of key stakeholders towards screening of NCDs by allied healthcare professionals.

DESIGN

Questionnaires were designed piloted and subsequently completed by key stakeholders. The results were analysed descriptively.

SETTING

Public questionnaires were undertaken in a West Midlands transport station and Public Markets. High street dental and community pharmacy settings were selected via local clinical and research networks. Healthcare professionals were identified using professional networks and were emailed a web link to an online survey.

PARTICIPANTS

1371 members of the public, 1548 patients and 222 healthcare professionals (doctors general practitioner (GP), dentists general dental practitioner (GDP) and pharmacists) completed the questionnaires.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The outcome was to compare attendance patterns at GDP and GP practices to determine whether different populations were more likely to access different healthcare professionals, this included determining when patients were last screened for NCDs by their GP. Additionally, the willingness of patients to undergo the required intervention and the opinions of stakeholders regarding the concept of screening for the specified NCDs in general dental and community pharmacy settings were also explored.

RESULTS

12% of patients who reported seeing a GDP biannually reported that they had not had contact with a GP in the last year. Over 61% of the public reported attending a GDP biannually, of this group 48% reported having never had a check-up at the GP. All stakeholders surveyed were in broad support of the concept of allied health professionals undertaking screening for specific general health conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has established that allied healthcare professionals may have access to different cohorts of the population to GPs. If GDPs and pharmacists have access to patients who are not using healthcare services elsewhere, they may be ideally placed to risk assess, and where appropriate offer preventative advice and test for NCDs.

Periodontal disease increases the risk for onset of systemic comorbidities in dental hospital attendees: An 18-year retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Periodontal disease closely links to various systemic diseases. This l8-year retrospective cohort study investigated whether poor periodontal condition may increase the risk for onset of systemic comorbidities.

METHODS

A total of 488 individual dental folders from 17 400 dental hospital attendees registered from 1996 to 1998 were randomly selected, and these participants were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, stroke, cognitive impairment, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in the Clinical Management System. The records of periodontal examination and orthopantomogram on the first registration were obtained, and full-mouth bone level (BL) was measured. Onsets of the eight comorbidities concerned above until 2016 were retrieved from the system.

RESULTS

The participants with worse periodontal status on their first registration had significantly higher numbers of the eight comorbidities/mortality during the 18-year follow-ups than their counterparts (P < 0.05). BL presented as bone loss/age was independently correlated to the comorbidity profiles in two multivariate models (0 to 1 versus ≥2; 0 to 2 versus ≥3) after adjusting for age and sex (odds ratio [OR] = 1.87; OR = 2.18, P < 0.05), highlighting that the individuals with more bone resorption exhibited a greater number of the comorbidities as compared with their counterparts. Moreover, those with onsets of more comorbidities showed worse periodontal conditions according to four parameters employed (community periodontal index, BL, bone loss/age and number of remaining teeth) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Within the limitations of this 18-year retrospective cohort study, our findings provide the first evidence that periodontal disease experience to some extent reflects the host susceptibility to onset of common systemic comorbidities. Further studies with larger sample sizes and appropriate adjustment of critical confounders are highly warranted to substantiate the current observation.

Providing Health Screenings in a Dental Setting to Enhance Overall Health Outcomes

Data suggest that providers and patients have a favorable attitude toward chairside screening in the dental setting and are willing to participate in these activities. Likewise, efficacy studies indicate this strategy can effectively identify patients who are at increased risk of disease or have the presence of disease risk factors and could benefit from medical follow-up. Studies suggest it is feasible to conduct these screenings in the dental setting. Although the American Dental Association has established screening treatment codes, challenges to widespread implementation still exist, including developing a provider reimbursement strategy and the need for adequate provider training.

Are dental providers the next line of HPV-related prevention? Providers' perceived role and needs

The rise in HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer incidence necessitates novel prevention efforts including multiple provider types. Although dental providers screen for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers, little is known about their needs to advance “primordial prevention,” or interventions at the earliest possible stage, to prevent HPV-related cancers. This study assessed dentists' and dental hygienists’ perceived roles and needs regarding HPV-related primordial prevention.

We conducted a mixed-method study with data from focus groups with dentists (n= 33) and dental hygienists (n= 48) and surveys from both provider types (n= 203) among providers from a diverse set of practice settings and geographic communities. Data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis and chi square tests.

Participants affirmed dental professionals’ roles in preventing HPV-related cancers and identified needs to overcome barriers to fulfilling prevention objectives. Barriers included: (1) practice environment and patient characteristics, and (2) the sensitive topic of HPV. Further, participants identified needs to improve HPV-related cancer prevention.

Findings from this study suggest that dental providers may become the next line of prevention for HPV-related cancers. Dental providers’ professional associations have provided guidance on HPV and oropharyngeal cancers, but our study reveals dental providers’ needs for following professional organizations’ guidance to advance prevention efforts and reduce HPV-related cancer incidence.

Facilitators and barriers to referral compliance among dental patients with increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea

OBJECTIVE

Our aims were to determine the adherence rate to dentist referrals for sleep apnea evaluation and the barriers and facilitators to referral compliance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A sample of 1099 patients was screened with the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Those with elevated risk were referred for a sleep evaluation. An interview was conducted over the phone to determine compliance to referral and the barriers and facilitators to compliance.

RESULTS

Of the 1099 patients (mean age: 45.1 ± 10 years) screened, 224 (20.4%) patients were determined to be at-risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Only 41 (18.3%) patients with increased risk adhered to referral recommendation. Demographic and health characteristics did not show significant differences between the compliant and non-compliant patients. The most common facilitators to compliance were increased awareness about OSA (N = 25, 65%) and dentist recommendation (N = 14, 34.1%), whereas the most common barriers to referral compliance were misconceptions about OSA (N = 69, 37.7%) and work responsibilities (N = 44, 24%).

CONCLUSIONS

Only a small percentage of patients adhered to the recommendation of their dentist to see a sleep specialist. Increased awareness about OSA and dentist recommendation were the most common factors that facilitated compliance, whereas misconceptions about OSA and work responsibilities were the most common barriers to patient compliance.

Screening for Diabetes Risk Using Integrated Dental and Medical Electronic Health Record Data

Undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes present a serious public health challenge. We previously reported that data available in the dental setting can serve as a tool for early dysglycemia identification in a primarily Hispanic, urban population. In the present study, we sought to determine how the identification approach can be recalibrated to detect diabetes or prediabetes in a White, rural cohort and whether an integrated dental-medical electronic health record (iEHR) offers further value to the process. We analyzed iEHR data from the Marshfield Clinic, a health system providing care in rural Wisconsin, for dental patients who were ≥21 y of age, reported that they had never been told they had diabetes, had an initial periodontal examination of at least 2 quadrants, and had a glycemic assessment within 3 mo of that examination. We then assessed the performance of multiple predictive models for prediabetes/diabetes. The study outcome, glycemic status, was gleaned from the medical module of the iEHR based on American Diabetes Association blood test cutoffs. The sample size was 4,560 individuals. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that the best performance was achieved by a model that took advantage of the iEHR. Predictors included age, sex, race, ethnicity, number of missing teeth, percentage of teeth with at least 1 pocket ≥5 mm from the dental EHR, and overweight/obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking status from the medical EHR. The model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.72), yielding a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.62. Across a range of populations, informed by certain patient characteristics, dental care team members can play a role in helping to identify dental patients with undiagnosed diabetes or prediabetes. The accuracy of the prediction increases when dental findings are combined with information from the medical EHR. Knowledge Transfer Statement: Prediabetes and diabetes often go undiagnosed for many years. Early identification and care can lead to improved glycemic outcomes and prevent wide-ranging morbidity, including adverse oral health consequences, in affected individuals. Information available in the dental office can be used by clinicians to identify those who remain undiagnosed or are at risk; the accuracy of this prediction increases when combined with information from the medical electronic health record.