title: Oral health information from the dentist to the diabetologist.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diabetes care includes annual evaluation of micro- and macrovascular complications, however, oral pathologies are not included. We studied retrieving oral health information, in particular periodontal disease, from the dentist and studied the association between the reported periodontal condition and variables of both diabetes and dental care.
  
  
  METHODS
  During their annual comprehensive diabetes evaluation, patients were asked to deliver an oral health questionnaire (OHQ) to their dentist. Based on the returned OHQs, the process of retrieving oral health information from the dentist was analyzed. In addition, reported oral health measures with special emphasis to periodontitis, using a Periodontal Screening Index (PSI), were related to diabetes-related variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 889 patients of whom 102 patients (11%) did not visit a dentist at all and 252 (28%) were edentulous. The response rate was <50% for oral information on patients with diabetes. For the second aim, OHQs of 207 patients could be further analyzed. A moderate to high PSI-score was found in 106 patients, of whom 65% were untreated for periodontitis. Furthermore high PSI-scores were associated with poor oral hygiene, soft tissue pathologies and periodontal treatment, but not significantly with glycemic control and presence of diabetes complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The transfer of information from the dentist to the diabetologist is far from optimal. An OHQ can be a valuable tool for the identification of patients with diabetes with poor oral health especially untreated periodontal disease, which is helpful for proper diabetes management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: mohamed.ahdi@slz.nl.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wijnand J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Teeuw
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hedvig G T A
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Meeuwissen
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joost B L
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hoekstra
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Victor E A
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Gerdes
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bruno G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Loos
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Slotervaart Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eelco W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Meesters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003729:Dental Care; D003815:Dentists; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D066275:Health Information Exchange; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000193:education*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010820:Physicians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Dental care; Diabetes mellitus; Oral health; Periodontal disease; Periodontal screening index; Periodontitis