Dental practices identify over 8% of patients with undiagnosed diabetes

That's according to a new study, which found that by using a new tool, more than 8% of patients (97 out of 1,143 patients) were identified with undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes.

The study found that using a FINDRISC (FINnish Diabetes Risk Score) questionnaire completed by each patient alone detected undiagnosed hyperglycemia with 87% accuracy.

The findings of the pioneering DiabetRisk study of 1,143 adult patients at 41 dental practices across Spain concluded that a simple screening protocol combining a FINDRISC questionnaire and HbA1c glucose test identified 96% of patients with undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes during a dental visit.

Commissioned by the SEPA Research Network of Dental Clinics from the ETEP Research Group at Complutense University of Madrid and sponsored by multinational oral healthcare company, Sunstar, the results of the three-year study have just been released at the SEPA (Spanish Society of Periodontology) Platinum Symposium.