Research suggests your BITE i.e. missing and/or misaligned teeth could be doing more than just giving you a crooked smile, they could be contributing to type 2 diabetes
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Could your teeth be to blame for sugar troubles ?
Research suggests your BITE i.e. missing and/or misaligned teeth could be doing more than just giving you a crooked smile, they could be contributing to type 2 diabetes.
Bad body chemistry often means BAD TEETH.
This is probably not a surprise, but could your teeth BE RESPONSIBLE FOR some of that bad body chemistry ?
This is what a team of researchers based in Turkey decided to investigate.
Bad Body Chemistry : You lose
The team started by confirming Bad body chemistry often means BAD TEETH. They rounded up people with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and then took a look at how well their mouths’ were working. Specifically, they looked at how well people’s upper and lower teeth “fitted” together when they closed their mouths.
These were working mouths, so the researchers weren’t concerned with what was in the mouth, but they were interested in what was “missing” and misaligned. A lot of the time, there were gaps where teeth SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Alongside natural teeth, there were high tech fancy implants, as well as dentures and other dental modifications.
Assessing THE FIT was the prime objective.
Good fit – Bad fit
To do this, they counted occlusal contacts. When you close your mouth, your teeth should come together like a zipper, this ensures that that ingested food can be ground between the teeth, promoting proper chewing and digestion. Anytime teeth don’t make CONTACT, food can escape the grind, this makes chewing less efficient and it can make eating harder items, particularly challenging.
Our team scored the number of occlusal contacts in the type 2 diabetics.
In a normal well functioning mouth, there should be at least four contact areas between the top and bottom, as long as this happens chewing is not compromised. Anything less is problematic. The size of the problem increases as the number of contacts decreases. When the top and the bottom teeth are missing each other altogether, i.e., there are zero contact points, it can lead to issues such as difficulty chewing, uneven wear on teeth, and potential strain on the jaw joints, affecting overall oral health and comfort.
Bad Teeth : You lose
In this study, the diabetics were divided into two groups. Those with good working mouths i.e. a least 4 occlusal contacts. And those with less 0 to 3. They then took a look at how each group faired in terms of metabolic parameters.
The results show there really wasn’t much difference between the two groups in terms of BMI, levels of inflammation as assessed by white blood cell counts or kidney function (I’m not showing this data).
Scatter plot showing the BMI and white blood cell levels in diabetics with less than 3 occlusal contacts versus those with a normal bite © 2023 Bayram, Eskan.
But HbA1c , a marker of glycemic control, was significantly different.
Scatter plot of HbA2c levels in diabetics with less than 3 occlusal contacts versus those with a normal bite. © 2023 Bayram, Eskan.
Supporting the conclusion that poor masticatory function is associated with poor glycemic control. It’s not a result that is unexpected. Logic says………..
Poor glycemic control will put those toothies in the line of fire.
Dry mouth
A big factor contributing to this is dry mouth (xerostomia). The intricate network of blood vessels inside the salivary gland, like those in the retina, kidney and nerves, take strain when sugar levels are high.
Saliva production becomes compromised in the diabetic.
Lower saliva production and altered saliva composition impacts who is who in the zoo, giving “the bad” guys the advantage. This sets the stage for tooth decay and gum disease. Teeth are lost. And with them occlusal contacts.
It’s a vicious circle.
So just in case you need a reminder – get those sugar levels under control.
Sugar in check, teeth on deck !
Okay. That’s a little bit cheesy, thanks chatgpt, but it is true, but that is not why I am sharing this story. The Turkish team FLIPPED THE coin and looked at whether BAD TEETH could be responsible for BAD BODY CHEMISTRY.
Bad Teeth : You lose too
To do this, they did a bite make over. They took one of the ladies in this study who scored a zero on the occlusal contact score and “fixed” here mouth.
Here is a before shot, depicting the challenges she faced with oral health.
Pre-operative views. Initial intra-oral upper and lower jaw (right) and the initial panoramic x-ray (left). © 2023 Bayram, Eskan.
The after shot, however, reveals a remarkable transformation—her teeth now align seamlessly, showcasing not only a functional bite but also a radiant smile.
Post-operative views. Final view of the subject (right), and panoramic x-ray (left). © 2023 Bayram, Eskan.
Blessings MULTIPLIED
But the benefits extended beyond cosmetic. The team tracked her HbA1c over a period of 18 months. She went from poorly controlled to pretty close to NORMAL. A value of more than 6.5 % gives you a diagnosis of diabetes.
Change in A1c value. The level of A1c was reduced from 9.1 to 6.2 in 18 months (Mo) after re-establishing dental occlusion by an implant-supported fixed restoration. © 2023 Bayram, Eskan.
Fixing her BITE, fixed her type 2 diabetes.
Liquids out, solids in
Why did it work ? The team speculated that fixing her bite, allowed her to change her diet.
Eating solid food, irrespective of the composition, is always going to diminish sugar spikes, because it takes time and effort to digestion and absorb the food. This means if you are metabolically challenged, smoothies are not as healthy as you’ve been led to believe. You can learn more here.
And incorporating more protein and fibre will have additional benefits. Both in terms of satiety. Protein and fibre makes you feel fuller so you eat less. And the hormonal response to protein, amplifies insulin release, helping keep postprandial sugar levels in check. Watch this video to learn more.
The chewing signal
The chewing signalPlus the motion of chewing itself, signals to the brain via trigeminal nerves that you’ve just onboarded dinner.
This first benefit of this, is it alerts your brain to stop eating, so the process of digestion can run it’s course.
The second benefit, which is more relevant to sugar control, is it offers a subtle cue to your gut to release insulin long before any biochemical signals are perceived.
It’s called the cephalic phase insulin response.
The effect is probably quite subtle, and might not happen in EVERYONE, but when it does happen, it increases the odds that insulin arrives ON TIME and thus take care of business, quickly and efficiently.
Contributing to better glycemic control.
A tool in the tool box
Ignoring teeth “issues” is common. Let’s be honest, visits to the dentist are expensive and scary, so it is easier to just adjust your diet/chewing to work with what you’ve got.
As long as it’s NOT HURTING, just let it be.
But this research suggests, a trip to the dentist to address misalignments or restore missing teeth, could help you create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY and BETTER HEALTH.
Further reading
When you’re insulin resistance the quantity and quality of saliva, you’re producing, is altered – this has bigger health consequences, than a bit of dry mouth
Brushing your teeth is good for your heart
Every brand of lipstick tested contained a collection of metals. Some more, some less. Nothing to worry about, as long as you’re not a lipstick licker.
Swooshing with mouth wash will increase your blood pressure
Swooshing, stops the conversion of nitrate to nitrite by the bacteria living in your mouth – since nitrite help dilate blood vessels, your blood pressure rises