What Dentists Know About Diabetes When you have diabetes, one of the best clues about your health stares you in the face when you look in the mirror every morning. The condition affects your teeth, gums, and general oral health in many ways. “If left untreated, diabetes can really take a toll on your mouth,” says Alice Boghosian, DDS, spokeswoman for the American Dental Association. When you think of a treatment for diabetes, a toothbrush isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But there is a link. If I don’t take care of my teeth, what happens? “Diabetes can cause a lot of things,” Boghosian says. “First of all, it can put you at higher risk for oral infections.” These are clusters of germs that can cause pain in your mouth. They look like white or red patches on your gums, tongue, or inside your cheeks.  You might even notice dark spots or holes in your teeth. People with diabetes are also more likely to get fungal infections, such as thrush, which leaves white patches in your mouth that can turn into sores or ulcers. “Some studies suggest that preventing gum disease can help you control your blood sugar,” Boghosian says. What about my gums? “The most common effect of diabetes is swollen and bleeding gums,” Boghosian says. She notes that about 1 in 5 people with diabetes have gum disease.  If it’s not treated, gum disease can cause your blood sugar to rise, and that makes your diabetes harder to manage. “Since [diabetes] makes you more susceptible to infections, you’re less able to fight bacteria that invade the gums,” Boghosian says. “It’s a vicious cycle.” The reverse is also true. If your blood sugar is out of control because of an infection in your mouth, then treating that infection will tame your blood sugar. Does diabetes affect my teeth? “Yes,” Boghosian says. “High blood sugar or some medications can cause you to have less saliva, so your mouth can feel dry. Without saliva to cleanse and rinse your teeth, you’re at a much higher risk for cavities.”  Diabetes also makes it take longer to heal wounds, including those from oral surgery or having a tooth removed. Can my dentist tell if my diabetes is under control? Maybe. A dentist can tell if something is not right within your mouth. They would not give you a blood sugar test or check on your diabetes, but if your gums bleed and are not the right color, they will see that.  “I’m not a physician. I can’t diagnose diabetes. But I can tell if something isn’t right beyond the scope of dental health,” Boghosian says. So what can I do? First, manage your diabetes. “Keep your blood sugar levels under control, choose a healthy diet, stay active,” Boghosian says.  “If your body is healthy it will help you fight the oral and fungal infections, and maybe even increase the amount of saliva in your mouth.” ...read more

After years of taking bigger and bigger sips, America is gulping down water: by 2016, bottled water will outsell soft drinks nationwide, and it’s already the number one beverage sold in big cities from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., according to the International Bottled Water Association. Bottled water sales rose more than 7% in 2014 alone, the group says. Consumer surveys suggest tap water consumption is rising too. Yet the science of water and health is murkier than many consumers might realize. Here’s what true and what’s myth about several common beliefs: You should drink eight glasses a day. Nope. This is a myth, based on the fact that most healthy people do consume about eight cups of fluid a day in their foods and drinks, says Stanley Goldfarb, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “Somehow that got translated into ‘drink an extra eight glasses,’ ” he says. There’s no need to keep count or to get all your fluid from water, says Nancy Clark, a Boston area registered dietitian and sports nutritionist: “Coffee counts, iced tea counts, so do lettuce, soup, oatmeal and fruit.” You should drink water even if you are not thirsty. Most people, on most days can be guided by thirst alone, Clark says. But in some cases — when you sweat heavily outside on a hot day, for example — it’s smart to drink extra, she says. It’s also smart, she says, to pay attention in the bathroom: if you urinate every two to four hours and your urine stays light yellow, you are well-hydrated. Water helps control your weight. It probably does — if you drink water instead of drinks with calories, especially sugary drinks such as sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks, says Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “The general consensus is that liquid calories, particularly when they come from sugar, contribute to weight gain,” he says. When people drink sugary drinks, he says, “they don’t compensate by cutting back on food. They add calories.” Less clear, and still under study, he says, is whether water drinkers do better than diet soda drinkers. Water gives you energy. Not really. Energy comes from calories and water doesn’t have any. It is true, though, that dehydration can make you feel sluggish — and that re-hydrating can perk you back up, Clark says. It improves your complexion. While serious dehydration will dry your skin, drinking extra water does nothing for it, Goldfarb says. “When you drink a glass of water, it goes all over your body, it goes to the skin on your toes, your muscles and organs… it doesn’t go to your face preferentially.” It flushes out toxins. Your kidneys do that every time you urinate. Drinking more water than you need won’t make your kidneys work better, Goldfarb says. You’ll excrete the same waste products in more urine. It’s as good as a sports drink for exercisers. Usually, water is better — because it doesn’t have unneeded calories, sugar and salt, Clark says. For people working out hard for an hour or more — think marathon runners, bike racers and football players in long summer practices — a sports drink can provide some extra energy and keep help keep salt and fluid levels in proper balance, she says. It’s better from a bottle. While bottled water can be convenient and some people prefer the taste to their local tap water, there’s no reason to think it’s healthier. Tap water is regulated by theEnvironmental Protection Agency and subject to frequent testing and public reporting of results. Bottled water (which often starts as tap water), is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but manufacturers do not have to tell consumers where the water comes from, how it’s treated or what contaminants it might contain. And most of the bottles are never recycled, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2009. ...read more

Google and Sanofi want to make real-time data more useful for diabetes patients and clinicians. Google on Monday said it is working with European pharmaceutical maker Sanofi SA to improve treatments and devices for people with diabetes. Sanofi, which makes several diabetes medications, plans to collaborate with Google researchers and engineers to develop miniaturized sensing technology that will provide patients with better tools to manage their condition and offer physicians better patient health data. Diabetes affects an estimated 382 million people worldwide, according to the International Diabetes Federation, and that number is projected to reach 592 million by 2035. In the US, the number of diabetes cases diagnosed annually tripled between 1980 and 2013, from 493,000 in 1980 to over 1.4 million in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas can no longer produce insulin, or when the body can no longer effectively use the insulin it produces. Unmanaged, this lack of insulin leads to high glucose levels, which can damage tissues and organs. Google and Sanofi aim to make diabetes management continuous — through real-time data and monitoring — rather than episodic — in response to high glucose levels. Andy Conrad, CEO of the life sciences team at Google, said in a statement that Google sees promise in emerging technologies that provide real-time data about patient health. “Together with Sanofi, we believe diabetes management can be simpler and more convenient, which may help patients achieve an improved quality of life,” he said. Google’s life sciences group was previously part of Google X, the company’s division for experimental projects. In mid-August, CEO Larry Page announced a reorganization of Google under a holding company called Alphabet. The life sciences group, Page said, will become a standalone company. It’s being referred to as Google Life Sciences, but it’s likely to get a new name as the Alphabet reorganization takes shape. “We expect to have a more permanent name in the future,” a Google spokesperson said in an email. Google Life Sciences has been working on a cardiac-sensing and activity-monitoring wristband, cancer-detecting nanoparticles, and a baseline study of genetic and molecular health data from 175 people that aims to map what it means to be healthy. Google, Sanofi Focus On Diabetes Data Google has separate health-oriented company, Calico, that is focused on human longevity research. Google continues to pursue other research related to diabetes. Last year, the company partnered with Novartis to develop a contact lens embedded with electronics that can monitor glucose levels in the wearers’ tears. It has another partnership with Dexcom to build better continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. In a recent interview during MasterCard’s Masters of Code hackathon, Jean-Louis Gassée, a general partner at venture firm Allegis Capital, expressed skepticism about the Internet of Things for consumer devices, but said wearable devices that monitor data and draw inferences for healthcare look promising as an area of investment. ...read more