Background/Objectives: Knowledge about the relationship between diabetes and periodontitis is lacking in individuals diagnosed with type I diabetes. To enhance oral health and reduce the risk of oral diseases, healthcare professionals, both dentists and endocrinologists, should educate and motivate patients to treat periodontitis and its complications as soon as possible. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of type I diabetic patients about the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional, single-center study was carried out on 80 patients from the Tâmega and Sousa Hospital Center, who were administered a questionnaire before they underwent an oral clinical examination. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test and independent t-test. Results: All participants were aware of at least one of the problems associated with diabetes. Furthermore, 18.8% of the patients reported not receiving any advice from their dentist, and 31.4% stated that they had been informed of its importance. Regarding the diagnosis of diabetes, 87.5% of participants felt that dentists should be involved. Advanced age, lower education levels, and alcohol consumption were associated with a higher prevalence of periodontal disease (35.6%) (p < 0.05). Health practitioners should advise early periodontal disease diagnosis, treatment, and oral health education, particularly for people with type I diabetes. Conclusions: Factors, such as advanced age and lower education levels, were associated with a higher prevalence of periodontal disease. Although many patients recognize the relationship between diabetes and dental problems, most do not discuss this with their dentist.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with periodontitis. Currently, there are few studies proposing predictive models for periodontitis in patients with T2DM.

To determine the factors influencing periodontitis in patients with T2DM by constructing logistic regression and random forest models.

In this a retrospective study, 300 patients with T2DM who were hospitalized at the First People's Hospital of Wenling from January 2022 to June 2022 were selected for inclusion, and their data were collected from hospital records. We used logistic regression to analyze factors associated with periodontitis in patients with T2DM, and random forest and logistic regression prediction models were established. The prediction efficiency of the models was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Of 300 patients with T2DM, 224 had periodontitis, with an incidence of 74.67%. Logistic regression analysis showed that age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.047, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.017-1.078], teeth brushing frequency (OR = 4.303, 95%CI: 2.154-8.599), education level (OR = 0.528, 95%CI: 0.348-0.800), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (OR = 2.545, 95%CI: 1.770-3.661), total cholesterol (TC) (OR = 2.872, 95%CI: 1.725-4.781), and triglyceride (TG) (OR = 3.306, 95%CI: 1.019-10.723) influenced the occurrence of periodontitis (P < 0.05). The random forest model showed that the most influential variable was HbA1c followed by age, TC, TG, education level, brushing frequency, and sex. Comparison of the prediction effects of the two models showed that in the training dataset, the AUC of the random forest model was higher than that of the logistic regression model (AUC = 1.000 vs AUC = 0.851; P < 0.05). In the validation dataset, there was no significant difference in AUC between the random forest and logistic regression models (AUC = 0.946 vs AUC = 0.915; P > 0.05).

Both random forest and logistic regression models have good predictive value and can accurately predict the risk of periodontitis in patients with T2DM.

Diabetes increases the risk of oral health complications. This review aimed to synthesise the current evidence on the oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living with diabetes in South Asian countries and provide recommendations on possible strategies for addressing the gaps in oral health care in this population, including the role of non-dental professionals. Using a scoping review framework, six electronic databases (Ovid Medline, CINAHL, ProQuest Central, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase) were searched to identify the relevant literature published between January 2000 and December 2021. The data were extracted into three main categories based on the review's aims, and further refined into sub-categories. A total of 23 studies were included. The review identified that while people with diabetes living in South Asian countries had some level of awareness about oral health and limited care practices to maintain good oral health, there were gaps in knowledge, and there were areas where their oral health practices and attitudes could be improved. The findings suggest a need for developing targeted oral health policies as well as implementing integrated oral health care interventions involving non-dental professionals to improve the oral health outcomes of people with diabetes.