Endodontic treatment of a diabetic patient: a case report

According to the World Health Organization, the number of diabetes mellitus patients has increased at an accelerated rate, and may become a public health problem. Dentists should be able to diagnose this condition, to know the pathophysiology of the disease, its potential complications and its implications in the oral cavity and especially to perform a good dental treatment of the diabetic patients. The dental treatment carried out in a decompensated diabetic patient involves serious health risks. The endodontic infection may compromise even the controlled diabetes mellitus because the glucose levels interfere directly in the repair process of periapical lesions. In these patients, the endodontic treatment has no technical differences regarding the technique aspect, and the same attention should be paid when cleaning, disinfecting and shaping the root canal. The objective of this study was to report a case of endodontic treatment in a patient with a medical history of diabetes mellitus, showing periapical lesion bone repair 5 years after the case conclusion. It can be concluded that the dental infection control is important to improve the patient’s health condition.