A major cross-sectional study reports that people with well-managed diabetes keep about as many natural teeth as those without diabetes — but poor glycemic control is tied to faster tooth loss.
The research team from Shiga University of Medical Science, in collaboration with Sunstar, analyzed an employment-based Japanese health claims and check-up database covering 705,542 adults aged 20–74, with their findings published in Diabetology International.
“The maintenance-included group had a higher number of teeth than the treatment-only group, even at older ages, and this association was observed regardless of diabetes or glycemic control status,” the researchers wrote.
A subset of 185,820 people aged 40–69 with complete tooth-count and HbA1c data was used to examine tooth number by diabetes status and dental maintenance habits.
Key findings:
- Only 46% of participants saw a dentist in the past year (34% in their 20s; 43% in their 30s).
- Preventive care with cleanings and check-ups helped preserve teeth compared to treatment-only visits.
- People with diabetes who kept HbA1c under 7% had similar tooth counts to non-diabetic peers.
- Those with HbA1c ≥7% lost more teeth, and tooth loss increased with age—especially when dental care was treatment-only rather than preventive.
Related: Periodontal Disease and Type 2 Diabetes
Study didn’t establish causality
“While this is a cross-sectional study and does not establish causality, its strength lies in the scale and detail of the data,” said co-author Dr. Katsutaro Morino. “We hope younger generations, in particular, take this message to heart.”
The authors call for tighter medical–dental collaboration: keep HbA1c on target and prioritise preventive visits to protect oral health.
The study lists multiple Sunstar affiliations and a MinaCare data partner
