I cannot wait to share this sponsored post with you! When the Mom It Forward Blogger Network asked me to share Colgate Total and the American Diabetes Association campaign, “Watch Your Mouth”, I was so grateful because I know first hand how important this issue is!. All opinions are my own.
Diabetes Sucks!
Last year I told you all about my kids’ Dad, Steve. Although we are divorced we are good friends for the benefit of our children. Steve has spent the last year visiting the hospital three days per week for four hour dialysis treatments. Even with those treatments, he’s been given a death sentence. Unless he receives a kidney transplant to cure his End-Stage Renal Disease caused by Diabetes. Steven is severely diabetic (Type 1) and needs this transplant in order to survive.
I saw first hand what diabetes does to a person’s oral health. Seriously, its no joke. When my kids were very small I watched their dad loose tooth after tooth until he literally had none left. Diabetes had a serious effect on his overall health, not just his blood sugar. In fact, his gum disease was the first sign that diabetes was beginning to have a serious hold over his life. Thinking back now, I don’t think he ever really understood the link between diabetes and gum disease.
If I could convince just one person, especially someone diabetic, to take the best possible care of their teeth it would be worth the effort ten-fold. Simply brushing isn’t enough. Steve learned the hard way but, you don’t have to! Visit OralHealthAndDiabetes.com for more information and helpful oral care tips.
Diabetes Awareness
I’m extremely aware of the effects of diabetes, not only on the person that has diabetes, but also on their family. My children are screened annually for any sign that they may have inherited their Dad’s diabetes. This is something that we want to catch early should it ever become an issue. Their dad wasn’t diagnosed until he was 21 years old and hospitalized with blood sugars well above 500! My children have struggled, watching their father heal from toe amputations, many hospitalizations and now dialysis. It is so important to me to help raise awareness about diabetes and also the link between oral health and diabetes. Because my family has lived through some of the worst complications of diabetes known.
From the American Diabetes Association, here are just a few of the recent statistics on diabetes:
- Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
- Another 79 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
- The American Diabetes Association estimates that the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion.
Watch Your Mouth!
Colgate Total and the American Diabetes Association launched a new campaign called “Watch Your Mouth!” to help raise awareness surrounding the often-overlooked link between oral health and diabetes.
According to the CDC[1], people with diabetes are two times more likely to develop gum disease. But there are a few simple steps we can take to help prevent early gum disease:
- Make sure you visit your dentist. While your doctor and certified diabetes educator play an important role in helping with your diabetes, so does your dentist.
- Follow healthy dental habits at home. Research shows that brushing twice a day with Colgate Total® toothpaste can help improve gum health in as little as four weeks.*
Additional Information
Click here for more information about Colgate Total. For more information about Oral Health & Diabetes visit
Oral Health and Diabetes Infographic
I’d love for you to pin the infographic above and help me spread the word about the link between Oral Health and Diabetes! Have you or someone you know been affected by diabetes?
