Comparative Study of Periodontal Parameters in Diabetic and Non-diabetic Patients with Oral Mucosal Lesions

Abstract Introduction: There are both bidirectional pathophysiological relationships between diabetic mellitus and periodontal disease and oral mucosal lesions are other complicating factors in diabetic patients. The overall effect of these conditions on periodontal health has not been sufficiently examined. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 240 patients (120 diabetic and 120 non-diabetic) with oral mucosal lesions. Periodontal parameters such as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and bleeding on probing were taken. Patients with diabetes were grouped in terms of the level of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) into well-controlled (≤7%) and poorly-controlled (>7%). In the statistical analysis, there were independent t-tests, Chi-square tests and Pearson correlation. Results: Diabetic individuals showed a large and significant increase in all periodontal parameters (PI [2.14 ± 0.58 vs. 1.67 ± 0.52, P < 0.001], GI [2.08 ± 0.61 vs. 1.58 ± 0.49, P < 0.001], PPD [4.32 ± 1.21 mm vs. 3.18 ± 0.94 mm, P < 0.001], CAL). The diabetics with poor control recorded a worse periodontal parameter compared to the well-controlled diabetics ( P < 0.05). The PPD ( r = 0.542, P = 0.001) and CAL ( r = 0.589, P = 0.001) had a significant positive correlation with the HbA1c levels. Conclusion: Diabetic patients who present with oral mucosal lesions have very poor periodontal health in comparison with non-diabetics and glycaemic control is a decisive factor. This high-risk population needs dental-medical management approaches.