Diabetes as it affects the oral cavity

Background: Diabetes is one of the commonest noncommunicable diseases and often affects various organs. The oral cavity is a commonly affected area, which is not given due attention. Objective: The objective of this review article was to highlight often overlooked dental, oral, and maxillofacial comorbidities in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Design: Review article. Setting: Clinical. Materials and Methods: Articles on the oral manifestations of DM were collated through studies done by other clinical researchers over the past three decades to highlight different oral conditions that complicate or are associated with DM. The databases of PubMed and Google Scholar were searched, and the key words used were oral manifestations, DM, and oral health. Results: About 100 articles on the subject were identified, several of which were perused and used for this review. Many oral comorbidities exist in patients with DM including periodontal diseases, caries, tongue lesions, buccal lesions, abnormalities of taste, and orodental infections. These conditions affected glycemic control, and poor glycemic control led to several of these manifestations. Conclusion: Comprehensive oral and dental screening should be incorporated into medical examination of patients with DM. Also, we recommend that patients visiting dental surgeries for rapidly advancing periodontal disease and orodental infections should be screened for DM among other immunosuppressive states.