There are about 24 million diabetics in the USA, and more than 50 million others who are pre-diabetic. One in eight households contains a diabetic, and the CDC predicts that one in three children born after the year 2000 will become diabetic. What does this have to do with teeth? Diabetics are twice as likely as non-diabetics to develop gum disease, and there is a “loop” between diabetes and gum disease. Uncontrolled gum disease makes diabetes worse, and worsening diabetes makes for more problems with gum disease. For some patients this is literally a “death spiral”, since patients with diabetes and severe gum disease have a premature death rate nearly eight times higher than those who don’t have gum disease. Click on www.diabetes.org for more information. The good news is that it’s never too late to improve your oral health, and proper treatment can enable you to improve your quality of life and extend your lifespan. If you have diabetes, you can’t afford to ignore your oral health – call today for a comprehensive oral exam. Dr. Felt has advanced training in the treatment of gum disease, and practiced as a specialist in this area for 10 years before opening a general practice. Meredith Dental…experience you can trust.