Assessment of Medical Practitioners' Knowledge Regarding the Relationship Between Periodontal Disease and Diabetes Mellitus: A Questionnaire-based Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory infectious disease that increases the host's overall inflammatory burden by inducing a persistent systemic inflammation. This burden has been linked to insulin resistance, the development of diabetes, and its complications. Periodontal therapy plays a vital role in controlling diabetes and its potentially fatal complications. Medical and dental professionals should be aware of this inter-relationship between the two diseases to facilitate proper diagnosis and predict better treatment outcomes. Aim: To assess the knowledge of medical practitioners regarding periodontal disease and its inter-relationship with diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted by using google forms between May 2022 and October 2022 among 150 medical practitioners. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions divided into two parts. The first part gathered personal data, while the second part focused on their knowledge about disease awareness. The collected data were analysed using percentages. Results: Out of 149 participants, who sent completed questionnaires, only 8 practitioners (5.4%) referred all while 99 (66.4%) referred only a few of their patients for dental check-ups. Among them, only 39 participants (26.2%) referred patients for regular general dental check-ups without any complaints or findings. Although 112 (75.2%) had knowledge about the association, only 59 participants (39.6%) knew that it is bidirectional. A total of 80 (53.7%) responses understood that periodontal bacterial load and associated inflammation caused alterations in sugar levels. However, 68 (45.6%) were unaware that periodontal treatment can help improve glycaemic status. Conclusion: It can be inferred that medical practitioners were not aware of the connection between periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus.