Relationship between diabetes mellitus and apical periodontitis of endodontic origin. Narrative review

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that is characterized by an increase in blood glucose levels, causing a systemic inflammatory state that can affect the healing of periapical lesions present in apical periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease caused by an endodontic infection whose development is regulated by the host’s immune response. Diabetes could interact with apical periodontitis by triggering immune modulation, being able to affect the clinical outcome of periapical lesions and interfering with healing after endodontic treatment. The objective of this literature review is to analyze the evidence regarding the relationship between diabetes mellitus and the presence and severity of apical periodontitis of endodontic origin. Articles were collected from the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases between the years 2016 and 2021. 31 relevant articles were included for this study. In 41.6% of the studies a greater presence of apical periodontitis was found in patients with diabetes associated with a more complex and compromised apical lesion. 25% of the studies reported that poorly controlled diabetic patients had a greater presence of apical periodontitis. 25% of the studies reported high levels of HbA1c in association with apical periodontitis. A relationship was found between diabetes and apical periodontitis, which means diabetes should be considered as an important preoperative factor in the development and severity of apical periodontitis; however, more standardized experimental studies should be carried out to determine this relationship more accurately, in addition to being able to investigate a bidirectionality between the two.