Association of Salivary & Plasma Glucose Level with Oral Health Status among Type 2 Diabetics in India - A Comparative Study

Background and Objectives: Diabetes is fast gaining the status of a potential epidemic in India with more than 62 million diabetic individuals currently diagnosed with the condition. Biochemical analysis of saliva would be of great biomedical importance, since saliva is very easy to collect offering a cost-effective approach for screening of large populations, and could represent an alternative for the patient whose blood is difficult to obtain when compliance is a problem. The objective of the study was to correlate blood glucose level and salivary glucose level with oral health status among type 2 diabetic and non-diabetics. Methodology: Cross sectional study was conducted among 130 diabetic patients and 130 non-diabetic individuals attending premier medical institutions in Bhopal. 2ml of peripheral blood was collected for the estimation of random non fasting plasma glucose levels. Unstimulated saliva was collected for the estimation of salivary glucose. Results: Salivary glucose levels were significantly higher in patients with diabetes than controls. There was a significant positive correlation between salivary and plasma glucose levels in patients with diabetes suggesting that salivary glucose levels can be used as a monitoring tool for predicting glycemic control in diabetic patients. Conclusion: Salivary glucose levels can be used as a noninvasive, painless technique for the measurement of diabetic status of a patient in a dental set up. *Corresponding author: Ashish Dwivedi, Department of Public Health Dentistry, People’s College of Dental Sciences, Peoples University, Bhopal, India, Tel: 91-8871134616; E-mail: [email protected]