Integrating Diabetes Screening in Dental Care Settings

Nearly 730,000 New Yorkers have undiagnosed diabetes.

Many of those at risk for diabetes go without necessary screenings because they do not have a primary care physician; without routine screening, Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for almost a decade. To address this problem, new opportunities to screen people at risk for diabetes in other health care settings—including dental care settings—are being explored. Because insurance use patterns indicate that people tend to seek routine and preventive oral health care more frequently than they do medical care, visits to the dentist serve as an opportunity to identify diabetes, connect patients with a primary care provider, and facilitate access to health care, especially for patients without a medical home.

In addition, multiple studies have shown a connection between diabetes and periodontal disease, further magnifying the benefits of conducting screenings for diabetes in a dental setting. Patients with diabetes are more likely to have periodontal disease and suffer from diabetes-related complications.  In 2010, NYHealth awarded Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUCDM) a grant to expand upon its existing diabetes screening program in the dental setting, further study the outcomes of this intervention, and begin replication of the program.