Dental Treatment Effect on Blood Glucose Level Fluctuation in Type 1 Balanced Diabetic Children.

Introduction: Pediatric dentists, while treating diabetic patients, have a major concern about the occurrence of hypo- or hyperglycemia complications. So far, no dental care protocol is elaborated to help practitioners in creating a safe environment for their patients. This study aims to evaluate the blood glucose level (BGL) fluctuation in type 1 diabetic children according to the type of the delivered treatment and its duration, to outline guidance for predicting the occurrence of a hypo- or hyperglycemia complication.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional approach was conducted on 70 balanced diabetic children aged between 7 years and 12 years old (32 females and 38 males) in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Lebanese University in Beirut. Only the patients having a BGL between 70 mg/dL and 300 mg/dL could undergo dental treatment. The gender, the duration of the dental session (≤30 or >30 minutes), the BGLs at the baseline and the end of the session were noted. The types of the performed dental treatment were classified as simple, and unpleasant acts.

Results: For the female group, only eight sessions lasted ≤30 minutes. The results of simple and unpleasant interventions >30 minutes showed that BGLs before and after treatment were almost identical ( > 0.05). In the male group, for the simple acts >30 minutes, the BGL showed a significant fluctuation ( = 0.02).

Conclusion: Dentists must be aware of signs of discomfort in balanced type 1 diabetic children to avoid severe complications. This study highlights a new range of BGLs (70-300 mg/dL) that allows safe dental treatment.

How To Cite This Article: Nassif N, Noueiri B. Dental Treatment Effect on Blood Glucose Level Fluctuation in Type 1 Balanced Diabetic Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(2):212-216.