Importance of glycemic control in dental care. Literature Review

Abstract

Controlling blood glucose appropriately is essential for the prevention of oral diseases and severe complications after dental care. Objective: to identify the importance of glycemic control in dental care through a review of the literature published between 2019-2024 in databases such as Pubmed, Bireme, Scielo, Science Direct. Materials and methods: A narrative review of the literature published in databases such as Pubmed, Sience Direct, Bireme, Scielo, Google Scholar was carried out, using as a search term: glycemic control, dental care, hyperglycemia, diabetes, dental management; articulated with the term "AND". The search yielded 25 articles, of which 5 were discarded for not having updated information and 20 were fully reviewed. Results. From the 20 selected articles, it was found that several authors highlight the importance of dentists thoroughly evaluating the glycemic control of their diabetic patients. The implementation of protocols that include the review of the clinical history and the performance of laboratory tests before treatments can prevent complications and improve the results of dental care in this group of patients. Conclusion: Glycemic control is of vital importance in dental care, especially in patients with diabetes mellitus. The results of this study indicate that controlling glycemia decreases the risk of postoperative complications, oral infections and minimizes the risk of periodontal disease, among other complications associated with dental treatment without glycemic control.