The comparison of periodontal health status and metabolic control in diabetic children and adolescents at Tygerberg hospital

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a well-known risk factor for Periodontal disease. Research has established that the prevalence of Periodontal disease is directly related to the glycaemic control of DM in adults and only a few research studies explore this prevalence in diabetic children and adolescents in South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the periodontal health status of diabetic patients which include children and adolescents attending the Paediatric Diabetic Clinic at Tygerberg Hospital and compare periodontal status with diabetic control. cross-sectional study was employed to determine periodontal status and data relating to the HbA1c% level, the type and duration of DM, the body mass index (BMI) percentile, age, sex, and puberty and treatment regimens were collected from patient records and entered into data collection sheets.