Differences in Dental Care Referral for Diabetic Patients Between General Practitioners and Diabetes Specialists in Japan, Analyzed from NSAID-Study 3

Introduction Periodontal disease is a common inflammation worldwide and is not only the foremost cause of tooth loss but also a cause of deterioration of glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus. In addition, effective glycemic management improves the control of periodontitis infection. The aim of this study was to clarify whether awareness of the need to refer their patients with diabetes to dentists differs between general practitioners and diabetes specialists. This was achieved by secondary analysis of data from the 2018 Nationwide Survey on Actual Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) by Japanese Practitioners (NSAID Study). Methods Data from 380 general practitioners and 79 diabetes specialists who participated in the NSAID study and responded to the question of whether they referred T2DM patients to the dentist were analyzed in this study. Results The proportion of general practitioners who referred T2DM patients to dentists was significantly lower than that of diabetes specialists (35.4% vs. 64.1%, respectively). Conclusion This result suggests that the general practitioners who participated in this study were less cognizant of oral hygiene in patients with diabetes than those who specialized in diabetes. It is also necessary to increase the opportunities for education of physicians who provide diabetic care to promote appropriate dental referrals. Plain Language Summary Periodontal disease is a common inflammation worldwide and not only causes tooth loss but also the deterioration of glycemic control in patients with diabetes. In addition, effective glycemic management improves the control of periodontitis infection. Physicians who care for diabetes patients need to be aware of the increased risk and need for improved oral hygiene and to refer their patients to dentists. This study aims to clarify whether awareness of the need to refer their patients with diabetes to dentists differs between general practitioners and diabetes specialists. Responses from 380 general practitioners and 79 diabetes specialists are analyzed in this study. The proportion of general practitioners who refer type 2 diabetes patients to dentists is shown to be significantly lower than that of diabetes specialists. It is necessary to increase the opportunities for education of physicians who provide diabetic care to promote appropriate dental referrals.

Automated summary

Periodontal disease is a common global inflammation that not only causes tooth loss, but also worsens glycemic control in diabetic patients. The study found that general practitioners refer diabetic patients to dentists at a significantly lower rate than diabetes specialists, highlighting the need to increase educational opportunities for physicians to promote appropriate dental referrals.