Impact of receipt of regular dental care with medical outcomes for persons with diabetes

Objective: Regular dental care may improve medical outcomes for persons with diabetes. However, the area has not been studied extensively. We examined the effect of regular use of dental care with HgA1c control and diabetes-specific emergency department (ED) utilization and hospital admissions among adults with diabetes.

Study Design: Using a retrospective, cohort design, we identified 582 persons with diabetes that received regular dental care compared to 582 persons that did not. The two patient groups were matched on age and gender, followed for 3 years and retained medical and dental benefits during the observation period. Both groups also received >= 1 outpatient medical visits during each 12 month period. Receipt of regular dental care was defined as >=2 dental hygiene visits in each 12 month period. Non-receipt of dental care was defined as no dental visits of any kind. Good HgA1c control (<=7 vs. > 7), diabetes-specific hospital admissions (>= 1 admissions vs. none) and diabetes-specific ED visits (>= 1 visits vs. none) were assessed by electronic medical record during year 3. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of receipt of dental care with study outcome measures; adjusting for prior utilization (ED and hospital admissions) and RxRisk (severity of illness measure constructed from pharmacy dispensings).

Results: Receipt of dental care was associated with better HgA1c control (OR=2.39, 95% CI=1.80-3.18), lower diabetes-specific ED visits (OR=0.69, 95% CI=0.49-0.97) and lower diabetes-specific hospital admissions (OR=0.63, 95% CI= 0.46-0.86).

Conclusions: Regular receipt of dental care was associated with improved diabetes-specific medical outcomes.