Oral health knowledge, attitudes and care practices of people with diabetes: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundPeople with uncontrolled diabetes are at greater risk for several oral health problems, particularly periodontal (gum) disease. Periodontal disease also impacts diabetes control. Good oral hygiene and regular dental visits are recommended to prevent and manage oral health problems. Several studies have been conducted to assess the oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices of people with diabetes yet a review of these findings has not yet been undertaken. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize current evidence on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people with diabetes in relation to their oral health care.MethodsA systematic search of all literature was carried out in five databases using key search terms. The inclusion criteria were: 1) published in the English language; 2) from 2000 to November, 2017; 3) conducted on persons with any type of diabetes and of all ages; 4) explored at least one study outcome (knowledge or attitude or practices toward oral health care); and 5) used quantitative methods of data collection. No restrictions were placed on the quality and setting of the study.ResultsA total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included a total of 27,894 people with diabetes and were conducted in 14 countries. The review found that people with diabetes have inadequate oral health knowledge, poor oral health attitudes, and fewer dental visits. They rarely receive oral health education and dental referrals from their care providers. Provision of oral health education by diabetes care providers and referral to dentists when required, was associated with improved oral health behaviours among patients.ConclusionsOverall, people with diabetes have limited oral health knowledge and poor oral health behaviours. It is therefore essential to educate patients about their increased risk for oral health problems, motivate them for good oral health behaviours and facilitate access to dental care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5485-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IDF Diabetes Atlas: Diabetes and oral health – A two-way relationship of clinical importance

“…Persons with diabetes generally have limited knowledge of oral health and no appreciation of its role in general health and diabetes management [120], coupled with poorer home oral hygiene [120], especially in hemodialysis patients [121].…”

Managing Pain in People with Cancer—a Systematic Review of the Attitudes and Knowledge of Professionals, Patients, Caregivers and Public

“…The JBI-ACSSA tool was chosen as it is appropriate for the study design of included quantitative studies [64,90]. The assigning score for the quality of the data was performed as 1 point for each applicable item with a score of 7 as the maximum score [74]. An overall score was calculated for each included study and the rating of quality was judged as good (6/7 and 7/7), fair (3/7 to 5/7) or poor (< 3/7) [35] (see Appendix 3).…”

“…Other limitations could be that even though all included studies used the same design (cross-sectional design), the questionnaires that were used to conduct surveys in this particular area were different and some studies did not state which questionnaire was used or failed to provide information regarding the validity of the tools. Therefore, it was difficult to directly compare studies and the reliability of these included studies in this review could be compromised [74,90]. In the quality analysis, 15 of the 36 included studies were judged to be only fair quality (see Appendix 3).…”

Evaluation of oral health-related quality of life in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…The systematic review undertaken also has limitations. There is also the possibility of outcome reporting bias 15 . Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of oral problems on the quality of life of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a population-based study conducted in northeastern Brazil.…”