Use of oral healthcare facilities for the screening of hyperglycaemia in dental patients with undiagnosed type-2 diabetes mellitus in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Background: Early diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) is the key to controlling it. Dental care settings can offer an opportunity to identify unknown cases of DM. The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) is a validated and simple tool designed to predict the type II DM risk in the Indian population.

Objective: To assess the hyperglycaemia among undiagnosed type II DM patients and to compare random blood sugar (RBS) levels between various IDRS risk groups.

Materials and methods: This research included a sample of patients who visited two dental teaching hospitals for dental treatment between July and September 2024 based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Diabetes risk was evaluated with IDRS criteria, and capillary RBS was assessed with an Accu-Check^® glucometer. Chi-square test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and Mann-Whitney's tests for bivariate analysis, and binomial regression analysis to assess the predictors of hyperglycaemia were used.

Results: A sample of 652 individuals (370 males and 282 females) participated in this cross-sectional study. Around 35% of them were in high risk, 45% in medium risk, and 20% were in low risk categories. RBS levels >200 mg/dL were found in 18.25% of the participants, and among the high-risk patients, 35.65% had RBS levels >200 mg/dL. IDRS high-risk category and above 65 years were the two predictors identified in regression analysis.

Conclusion: Pre-procedural RBS estimation in high and moderate-risk patients is a valuable measure to identify unknown cases and prevent complications of DM. Dental clinics can play a vital role in this.