• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.493-502
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health problems among type 2 diabetes patients and suggest basic data for the promotion of their body and oral health by emphasizing the correlation between hemoglobin A1c and subjective oral health status. For 174 patients with type 2 diabetes and who were older than 40 years old, the questionnaire and measurement of hemoglobin A1c were conducted from January 9, 2012 to March 9, 2012. The results of the study were as follows. 1. They tended to be most aware of the following; 'inflammation on the oral mucosa' and 'pain on the oral mucosa' among the symptoms of oral mucosa, 'gum bleeding when brushing teeth' among the symptoms of periodontal disease, and 'feels dry in general' among the symptoms of xerostomia. 2. The patients with longer duration of diabetes showed greater recognition with regards to the symptoms of oral mucosa disease, periodontal disease, and xerostomia (p<0.05). 3. The group with regular meal showed lower level of hemoglobin A1c (p<0.001). 4. The level of hemoglobin A1c was higher in the group that recognized 'burning sensation', 'gum bleeding', 'gum recession' and 'bad breath' (p<0.05) as well as in the group that responded 'get up at night to drink' among the symptoms of xerostomia (p<0.05). Especially the symptoms of periodontal disease were revealed to be a factor that showed the 3rd strongest correlation with hemoglobin A1c.