photo via Ms. Concierge's Blog
Recently, Paula Deen came clean — and we aren’t talking about licking the bowl.
Deen publicly announced her diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, a fact she’s known since 2008. The southern chef is famous for her decadent dishes laced with copious amounts of butter, sugar and cream cheese. Her diabetes declaration happened to coincide with her endorsement of the global diabetes company, Novo Nordisk.
While Deen is unique in her ability to make diabetes lucrative, she is not alone in her diagnosis.
According to the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes. 79 million more people are classified as “pre-diabetic.”
As future dentists, we have a responsibility to recognize the oral manifestations of diabetes and refer appropriately.
Oral manifestations include, but are not limited to:
For all we know, it could have been Paula’s dentist who sent her for a screening. Judging from the brilliant shade of white (bleach 1 anybody?) her teeth are, it’s evident she visits the dentist…
Have you ever referred a patient for a medical consult because of suspected diabetes? Let us know what you think!
~Kallie Law, Alabama ’12, contributing editor
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