Identifying Diabetes in the Dental Office

A team of nursing and dental researchers are investigating the possibility of using gingival crevicular blood as an indicator of diabetes. The team will look at the levels of hemoglobin A1C, a measurement for blood glucose, within the gingival crevicular fluid of patients with periodontal diseases. The hemoglobin A1C test is currently used to determine how well people with diabetes are managing their blood glucose levels and in the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetes risk. This study will use a testing kit originally developed for dental professionals to use with finger stick blood samples. The kit has been revised to accommodate oral blood as well as finger stick samples. The year long study will include 120 subjects who will provide one finger stick sample and one blood sample from a periodontal pocket if oral bleeding is present. Researchers will examine the laboratory results of both the finger stick samples and oral blood samples to see if there is a link between A1C levels.