Parental Guidance
My Mom and Dad both had diabetes. And I know having the disease wasn’t part of their plans. My experience helping out my parents has helped me in more ways than one; here’s a shot at passing it forward.
My Dad was diagnosed with diabetes at age 50; he had had no obvious symptoms. The elevated blood glucose level showed up in a blood test taken during a check-up. Dad immediately transformed his diet; couldn’t possibly have been more compliant. Never saw Dad drink another cold one; good thing he wasn’t allergic to salmon and vegetables.
When Mom was diagnosed with the disease in her late-70s; she had loads of symptoms. In a health care/gender role reversal, Mom almost had to be dragged to an appointment with a physician. By the time Mom finally agreed to a visit, we nearly had to carry her in.
Dad enjoyed going to the dentist the way I enjoy Bruin football. In fact, one story has it he once sneaked out of a waiting room on hearing some distressing sounds coming from some poor soul receiving dental care nearby…and no, it wasn’t my office. Dad died of a heart attack a couple of months after I opened my practice here in Temple City, just one year into his retirement. We never did get around to even an exam and x-rays.
My Mom loved going to the dentist. After an early debate over Mom’s vision of ideal painless care with no local anesthetic (a rare debate I actually won) and some early fillings, Mom pretty much cruised through the next 15 years or so with no cavities or gum problems.
Mom didn’t walk anywhere up until about age 75. She ran. Mom used the Diabetic Diet way before she’d ever heard of it. Dripping wet, my 5-foot tall Mom never weighed more than 100 pounds. Up until diabetes-related neuropathy, mini-strokes, and progressive kidney failure, Mom could have danced teenagers off the floor.
A diabetes symptom I happened to pick up during a dental check-up explained my finding Mom with a whopping totally out-of-character 13 cavities. The cavities had resulted from “dry mouth,” an oral condition common with diabetes.
An even more common oral condition is periodontal disease (or gum and bone disease.) It’s estimated that 80-90% of people with diabetes also suffer from periodontal disease. Diabetes has a major impact on the ability of small blood vessels to facilitate the flow of nutrients to and removal of waste from body tissue. The result is tissue that doesn’t effectively heal.
So it’s bad enough that periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss. For diabetics, the worse news is periodontal disease makes controlling diabetes even more challenging. And I often wonder about my Dad’s periodontal risk. Could proper diagnosis, continuing care, and consistent monitoring of possible periodontal disease have made a difference?
The irony is both diseases have so much in common. Diabetes and periodontal disease are both chronic and episodic; they’re managed not cured. Both diseases have an insidious onset but can easily, painlessly be diagnosed by objective numbers; and both have been proven to be connected to other health challenges such as heart disease and stroke.
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, seeing your dentist is a must. And as in my Mom’s case, 6.3 million Americans suffer from the disease without the benefit of a timely visit to a physician and a diagnosis.
Please be responsible and see your physician and dentist. The statistical consequences for unmanaged periodontal disease alone equal about seven years of life expectancy and untold years of life quality.
So just do the right thing.
