UA treatment proposed by dental surgeon Gabriela Alessandra da Cruz proved to be effective for patients with chronic periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus. The therapy even suggests a positive influence on the glycemic index of diabetics. The scaling and root planing technique was performed in a single session and showed, through clinical, hematological and microbiological analyses, that diabetics showed improvements in the control of periodontal disease and also did not suffer changes in the clinical picture in the first three months of evaluation. . Until then, there were few reports in the literature about this type of assessment, which means an advance in the field of therapy aimed at patients with both diseases.

The investigation forms part of Gabriela's doctoral thesis. The study was supervised by professor Sérgio de Toledo and defended at the Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba (FOP). The dentist explains that periodontal disease is an infection characterized by frequent bleeding gums and alveolar bone loss, which can lead to mobility and tooth loss if the problem is not addressed.

For people with diabetes mellitus, the issue is more complex due to blood glucose levels and the difficulty in opting for incisive procedures. Diabetes is also considered a risk factor for periodontitis. Lack of metabolic control can worsen the condition of oral inflammation. “The traditional treatment consists of four scraping sessions, generally carried out on different days. As a result, the patient’s level of exposure is much higher”, explains Gabriela.

Tests of the technique were carried out on 20 patients with chronic generalized periodontitis, ten of whom were insulin dependent. In one session, Gabriela managed to remove the bacterial plaque responsible for the infection, reducing gum bleeding and the presence of microorganisms that cause the disease. Gabriela believes that, if the assessments are carried out over a longer period – six months, for example –, treatment can contribute to reducing glycemic indexes and, consequently, insulin intake.

Volunteers in the control group, that is, patients without diabetes but with periodontal disease, did not show negative changes in their general clinical status, as expected. However, they showed a reduction in the inflammatory process and improvement in periodontal conditions, which shows that the single-session technique was efficient in controlling the disease in these patients.

This aspect constitutes an indication that periodontal treatment carried out in a single session is an efficient technique for controlling the disease. It also has advantages such as reducing the number of visits for periodontal scaling treatment. “It is worth highlighting that patients with periodontal disease must be frequently monitored by dentists”, highlights the surgeon.