Scaling and root planing may improve blood sugar control of diabetes patients

Intervention for test group-1 included scaling and root planing (SRP) with metronidazole (MET) and oral hygiene instructions (OHI). Test group-2 was intervened with SRP + OHI and control group with OHI only. Stata v. 14 was used to observe inter and intragroup mean changes in glycemic [glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG)] and periodontal variables [bleeding on probing (BOP), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL)] using ANOVA and RMANOVA.

Proportion of change in outcome variable (HbA1c) was assessed between treatment groups using chi-square test. Change was considered significant at p-value ≤ 0.05.

The study revealed that there was a significant reduction observed in BOP, PPD, CAL, HbA1c and FBG over time [p < 0.05]. Significant reductions were also observed in same variables in both test groups in comparison to control arm [p < 0.05]. No change between the two test groups was observed [p > 0.05].

Hence, the authors concluded that "SRP with or without MET is significantly efficacious in not only reducing periodontitis but also for glycemic control in T2DM patients suffering from higher levels of HbA1c at baseline. Therefore, SRP + OHI without added load of MET at 6 months may be suggested and included as a part of overall diabetes management."