Survey Examines Feasibility of Diabetes Screenings in Dental Practice
Survey Examines Feasibility of Diabetes Screenings in Dental Practice The prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to climb, with the condition now affecting approximately 12% of the United States population. In addition, 4% of Americans don’t even know they have
Survey Examines Feasibility of Diabetes Screening in Dental Practice
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to climb, with the condition now affecting approximately 12% of the United States population. In addition, 4% of Americans don’t even know they have the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because addressing early diabetes symptoms can improve long-term health outcomes, new ways of diagnosing this chronic condition are being evaluated—including blood glucose screening in the dental office.
Members of the Dental Practice-Based Research Network looked at the feasibility of screening patients for abnormal random blood glucose levels in the dental setting. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association’s March issue, revealed that nearly 84% of participating dental practices found screening to be useful and worth implementing.
Clinicians in 28 practices screened 498 patients using a glucometer, and then reported their experiences via questionnaire. Of the 67 completed questionnaires, 84% of the respondents strongly agreed that blood glucose screenings benefited patients, while 74% agreed the result of this in-office testing would help identify patients at high risk of periodontal diseases—a common side effect of uncontrolled diabetes. Only 15% of participating clinicians stated that the testing was overly time-consuming.
Larger-scale studies are necessary to determine whether the dental office is an effective venue for diabetes screening.
