Even if you trained as a dentist more than 20 years ago, the link between periodontitis and diabetes was something that was widely established. Over the last 20 years experts have identified mechanisms for this link, and established an overall better understanding.     Diabetes is known to be an inflammatory disease, as is periodontitis. It is now well documented that the oral inflammation from active periodontitis contributes to an elevation in inflammatory markers in the bloodstream, which in turn can trigger inflammation elsewhere, including pancreatic function for example, which is part of diabetic pathogenesis. In fact the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) teamed … Continue reading →