Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among patients with diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2*

BACKGROUND Patients with diabetes mellitus have been associated with a number of changes in the oral cavity, such as gingivitis, periodontitis, mucosal diseases, salivary dysfunction, altered taste, and burning mouth. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS A cross-sectional observational study between August and October 2012 with a convenience sampling was performed for 51 patients with diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2). The study consisted of two phases: 1) a questionnaire application; 2) intraoral clinical examination. For the analysis of data, we used descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test in bivariate analysis (significance level of 0.05), and Poisson Regression. RESULTS The prevalence of oral lesions was 78.4%. Traumatic ulcers (16.4%) and actinic cheilitis (12.7%) were the most prevalent lesions. The lips (35.3%) and tongue (23.5%) were the most common location. The bivariate analysis showed an association with the type of diabetes, and two variables (age and comorbidity) were quite close to the significance level. In the Poisson Regression analysis, only diabetes type 2 remained significant after adjusting the model. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show a high prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in diabetic patients. The oral mucosal lesions are mostly associated with diabetes type 2.