EXAMINATION OF DENTAL CALCULUS STRUCTURE AND MINERAL DENSITY OF PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS

Objective: It is known that the risk of developing periodontal disease is high in patients with diabetes. In this study, a comparison of the mineral density and structure of calculus in teeth of individuals with diabetes and healthy subjects was aimed at by examining with scanning electron microscopy. Material and Methods: In this study, the teeth of 17 diabetic patients were used. After removal of the soft tissues, teeth were embedded in bakalite and sections were obtained from the region including calculus. Teeth covered with gold-palladium were observed by scanning electron microscope and mineral analysis was performed with energy-dispersive system. Results: The calculus away from homogeneous structure and seen high was being porosities. Intensive cracks in the calculus attaching to the sementum region of control and diabetic groups was also seen tocontinue into the sementum. When the mineral analysis of the control and diabetic groups were compared, there was no significant difference among the proportions of calcium. In diabetics, while the amount of phosphate of calculus in sementum was lower than in the controls, the amount of phosphate in enamel was seen higher than controls and this was statistically significant. Conclusion: While a significant effect of diabetes on formation of calculus and the amount of inorganic material was not shown, there may be deterioration in the structure of sementum depending on the calculus.