Why Treating Gum Disease Is Both Difficult and Important

Low-carb eating is especially important for any diabetic who has an infection. Despite your best efforts to keep your blood sugars in check, any infection, especially a kidney or bladder infection, can cause blood sugars to rise. Fortunately, rising blood sugars also serve as an early warning system for impending infections. If you notice that your blood sugars rise 24 hours before the onset of colds or flu, you can take zinc lozenges or Sambucol (an extract of black elderberries) to stop the colds or flu before they start.

Low-carb eating is especially important for diabetics who have gum infections. Frequent dental infections are a sign that blood sugars are poorly controlled, although dental infections also make blood sugars hard to control. If you have high blood sugars you cannot explain, and you are sure your medications are not out of date and your insulin (if you take it) is not contaminated, the very first place you should check for infection is your mouth.

First, check your gums to see if there is any swelling or redness. Gently press them to see if there is any tenderness to pressure. Put some ice water in your mouth for 30 seconds. If a tooth hurts, you more than likely have an infection.

See your dentist immediately. Your dentist can X-ray the parts of your mouth where teeth are sensitive and make sure you do not have a deep infection. Infected root canals are very common in diabetics and make blood sugar regulation very difficult until they are treated.