Background The relationship between diabetes and dental caries remains uncertain, so it is important to assess potential risk associations in specific populations where local factors may influence the disease trajectory. Here we quantified dental caries in children and adolescents with and without uncontrolled diabetes to examine whether poorly-controlled diabetes influences caries prevalence and severity.

Aim of Study To examine whether poorly-controlled diabetes influences caries prevalence and severity

Methods This was a case-control study of children and adolescents with uncontrolled diabetes and age-matched controls attending pediatric clinics at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Dental caries was diagnosed by visual examination and dental probing following WHO guidelines to derive DMFT/DMFS indices. Differences in caries metrics between subjects with diabetes and controls were assessed using chi-squared tests or the Mann Whitney U test.

Results Fifty-seven children and adolescents without diabetes and 42 children and adolescents with poorly-controlled (HbA1c≥7.5) diabetes were recruited. Overall, the median (IQR) DMFT index was 4 (5) (moderate) and the DMFS index was 4 (11). There were no significant differences in DMFT% [14.0 (21.5) vs.13.0 (20.0); p = 0.602], DMFT index [4 (5) vs. 3 (6); p = 0.749], nor DMFS index [5 (12) vs. 4 (11); p = 0.484] between diabetic patients and controls, respectively.

Conclusion(s) This is the first study of the relationship between diabetes and dental caries conducted in the UAE. Diabetes either has no effect on caries risk or its effect is so small that it can be masked by other dominant risk factors such as diet and obesity that still require addressing through coordinated public health measures.