Good periodontal care helped reduce hospitalizations, medical costs over time, study found
Treating gum disease in people with diabetes reduces their medical costs and
hospitalizations, new research shows.
The three-year study included diabetes patients with gum (periodontal)
disease who were randomly selected either to receive periodontal therapy or no
treatment (control group).
Those in the treatment group underwent periodontal therapy in the first year
and their gum health was maintained for the following two years. The patients
in the control group had incomplete periodontal therapy before the study and
did not receive regular periodontal maintenance during the study.
The total annual per-patient cost of hospital admissions, doctor visits and
overall medical care was an average of more than $1,800 lower in the treatment
group than in the control group. The patients in the treatment group had 33
percent fewer hospital admissions.
The study was presented March 26, 2012 at the annual meeting of the American
Association for Dental Research, in Tampa,
Fla.
"There have been emerging links between oral infections and systemic
diseases such as diabetes, which is increasingly prevalent in our
population," lead researcher Marjorie Jeffcoat, professor and dean
emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in
Philadelphia, said in an association news release.
"My research team and I had looked at other data sets and we knew that
health care costs could be reduced, but we wanted to look at the
hospitalizations and see how those could be reduced," Jeffcoat said.
"This study provided direct insight as to how lower hospitalizations could
be achieved through periodontal therapy, and we will further this study by
analyzing other chronic diseases and conditions such as heart attacks, strokes
and pregnancy with pre-term birth."
Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and
conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed
journal.
It's also important to note that although the study showed an association
between better gum care and lowered health costs for diabetics, it didn't prove
that healthier gums directly resulted in fewer hospitalizations or lowered
costs.
SOURCE: American Association for Dental Research, news release, March 23,
2012
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