Knowledge and awareness of oral health among diabetic patients—a cross-sectional study from Mangalore City

Despite the worldwide recognition of the dangers of diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetes patients’ awareness and attitude towards their heightened risks for oral disease has not been fully addressed. The study was conducted to explore the knowledge and awareness of oral health among diabetic patients. A total of 150 known diabetics were asked to fill the self-reported questionnaire which was specially designed for the study. Only completed questionnaires were included in the data analysis. The response rate for this particular study was 90.6 %. The gender distribution study subjects were 67 males (48.6 %) and 71 females (51.4 %). About 87 (63 %) of the respondents were not aware of which type of diabetes they had. Sixty-five (48.1 %) of the respondents were not aware of systemic complications associated with diabetes. Even though majority of the respondents had awareness about association between oral conditions and diabetes, only 11 (22.5 %) people knew about periodontal conditions associated with diabetes. Majority of the respondents (63.7 %) used toothbrush to clean their teeth. Fifty-two (37 %) of the respondents brushed once daily and 46 (33.3 %) brushed twice daily. Out of 138 respondents, 48 (35 %) knew about interdental cleansing. In order to promote proper oral health and to reduce the risk of oral diseases, health professionals in both the dental and medical fields need to take the responsibility to develop programs to educate the public about the oral manifestations of diabetes and its complications on oral health.