Trial of periodontal maintenance therapy on glycemic control

Periodontitis being recognized as one of the complications of diabetes mellitus may induce or aggravate systemic problems. Hence a proper periodontal treatment can curb the sugar levels in diabetic patients. In this study, a programmed systematic longitudinal study has been conducted between January to December 2011 on the pilot basis to evaluate the effect of professional periodontal maintenance therapy on the serum levels of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes in Mauritius. The analytical results indicate that this therapy significantly helped in reducing the plaque index, probing depth and clinical loss of attachment. The reduction in the HbA1C levels were found to be statistically significant in patients who were subjected to this therapy in addition to home care maintenance as compared to the control group following only home care maintenance.