The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the oral health condition in a Japanese population aged 40 to 79, in Bauru, Brazil as well as its association with the occurrence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance. It involved 530 subjects, from both sexes. All persons of first generation (Issei) and a random sample of one third of second generation (Nisei) were submitted to a home interview. A clinical examination, oral glucose tolerance test, and examination of oral health conditions took place at the Hospital of Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomaly - USP. The data were processed by Epi-Info program and 22.9% of the individuals presented diabetes mellitus (group I), 15.1% impaired glucose tolerance (group II), and 61.9% were considered normoglycemics (group III). The percentage of edentulous subjects was 45.9% for the total sample, and values of 58.4%, 46.7%, and 41.2% were observed for groups I, II, and III, respectively. Among the edentulous subjects, no one showed necessity of making a total prothesis. These data indicate that tooth loss showed significant association with the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, but there was no significant association with glucose intolerance.
Diabetes mellitus; Oral health; Epidemiology; Japanese population
