Influence of diet on dental caries in diabetics.

Two groups of population consisting of 84 patients suffering from diabetes (60 type I, 24 type II) and 69 nondiabetics of the same age have been examined on: oral hygiene index (OHI), frequency of daily tooth brushing, dietary habits and incidence of dental caries by registration of the decayed, missed and filled dental surfaces (DMFS-index). OHI in type I and type II diabetes was found to bee slightly worse than in nondiabetics, but not significantly (p > 0.05). In the number of daily tooth brushing there is not significant difference between diabetics and nondiabetics. All diabetics have considerably lower daily intake of total as well as simple carbohydrates than nondiabetics. The diabetics have a significantly higher daily intake of dietary fibers, calcium and phosphorus as well as the number of meals with simple carbohydrates and also DMFS-index than the nondiabetics. A significantly higher incidence (p < 0.01) of caries location was found on the buccal and labial cervical areas among patients suffering from diabetes. Explanation for this could be more frequent daily intake of low molecular carbohydrates with an improper calcium phosphorus ratio.