Will your dentist be the healthcare provider who diagnoses your diabetes?
Researchers at New York University recently found that oral blood samples collected during routine dentist visits were as effective as blood samples collected during finger sticks for testing hemoglobin A1c levels.
A1c is a blood protein marker that indicates whether blood sugar levels have been elevated over a period of time. It’s one of the markers used to diagnose diabetes, as well as to determine if the disease is under control.
About 29.1 million Americans have diabetes, but an estimated 8 million don’t know it. The NYU findings have “considerable public health impact,” researchers wrote.
Screening adults during dental visits ““ particularly adults over 45 ““ could help improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease, researchers said. Testing in the dentist’s office could also help track how well-controlled glucose levels are in patients who’ve already been diagnosed with diabetes.
“In light of findings from the study, the dental visit could be a useful opportunity to conduct diabetes screening among at-risk, undiagnosed patients ““ an important first step in identifying those who need further testing to determine their diabetes status,” the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Shiela Strauss, associate professor of nursing and co-director of the Statistics and Data Management Core for NYU’s Colleges of Nursing and Dentistry, said in a university press release.
Untreated, diabetes can have devastating consequences, including nerve pain, kidney failure, blindness, amputations, heart disease and stroke. Earlier detection can help prevent or delay those consequences.
The study, published in the current edition of the American Journal of Public Health, builds on earlier research that found that patients and dentists were willing to participate in the screenings during routine dental visits.
The study was conducted among patients treated at NYU’s College of Dentistry. Researchers found that oral blood samples were nearly identical with blood samples collected from finger sticks ““ correlating to a .991 value for accuracy ““ as far as measuring A1c levels.
