Oral health status in diabetes patients at Changhan district, Roiet province, Thailand

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 256 diabetes patients in Changhan hospital, Changhan district, Roi et province, Thailand. The study had 3 objectives: (1) to describe prevalence of coronal caries, root caries, periodontal disease, oral candidiasis; (2) to identify influence factors that effect prevalence of coronal caries, root caries, periodontal disease, oral candidiasis; (3) to recommend the plan for dental health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Standardized dentist and interviewers by trained the way use questionnaire, internal reliability of diagnosed dental caries, periodontal disease with statistic Kappa was 0.92. Data collection was carried on November to December 2009. Face to face questionnaire and oral examination were used. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe demographic data, oral health behavior and oral status. To assess association between dependent and independent variables, Chi-square test was used. The prevalence of coronal caries and root caries, were 72.7% and 55.5%, respectively. The mean (SD) Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) was 9.98 (8.05) teeth/person. Mean (SD) Decayed teeth (DT) was 2.86 (3.40) teeth/person. Mean (SD) Missing teeth (MT) was 7.10 (7.20) teeth/person. Mean (SD) Filled teeth (FT) was 0.06 (0.42) teeth/person. 54.3 percent of diabetes patients had posterior occluded teeth equal or more than 4 pairs. The prevalence of periodontal disease was 91.8%. All of the diabetes patients in this study had not oral candidiasis. The relationship between dependent and independent variables found that gender, betel nut chewing showed a significance association with coronal caries at P-value < 0.05 (P-value = 0.022, 0.019, respectively). The relationship between betel nut chewing, duration chewing and root caries showed a significance association at P-value < 0.05 (P-value = 0.001, 0.018, respectively). Age, oral health behavior tooth brushing, use toothpick showed a significance relationship with periodontal disease at P-value < 0.05 (P-value = 0.001, 0.001, 0.001 respectively). These was no significant relationship between smoking, betel nut chewing and periodontal disease. The available scientific evidence is particularly strong for a direct relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease. The Ottawa Charter was published to provide a set of guiding principles for health promotion. General and associated oral health conditions have a direct influence on elder people’s quality of life and lifestyle. This issue is interesting for further study