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Bakhshandeh S, Murtomaa H et al. Caries Res 2008; 42: 14–18

Evidence on caries in diabetics is inconsistent. This study investigated 299 dentate patients (mean age 49, range 25-69) in a diabetic clinic in Tehran. Mean duration of diabetes was 9.6 yrs (1-44), 56 had a high level of education, 50 had type 1 diabetes, 238 type 2 and 11 other types.

Control was good in 160 patients (HbA1c < 7.6), moderate (7.6-8.5) in 62 and poor in 65 (8.6+). Respective mean DMFT scores were 12.5, 12.9 and 14.1. In men, no factors gave associations with DMFT >15 at the 5% level, although age and metabolic control showed trends in this direction. In women, there were trends towards associations for age and type 1 diabetes. The authors comment that oral self-care and diabetic self-care have been shown to share certain behavioural factors.