KEY POINTS

  • Type 2 diabetes is a condition that could hamper your daily activities especially if your blood sugar is high
  • Many patients don't get to detect the illness because they fail to recognize the symptoms
  • One of the symptoms can appear in your mouth

Type 2 diabetes is one of the conditions that could lead to many health issues when it is not kept under control. Accordingly, health experts have pinpointed that patients who don’t know that they have diabetes end up suffering from a worse condition. Most of the time, their inability to treat the condition is because they also fail to recognize the symptoms.

Diabetes affects a lot of areas of health that it also manifests itself through a lot of symptoms. One of the symptoms that you need to watch out for will affect your mouth.

Dry Mouth

One of the signs of diabetes is having a dry mouth. Known as xerostomia in the medical field, this condition is characterized by the lack of saliva. According to Express, saliva plays a vital role in controlling the levels of bacteria in the mouth. It is also the one responsible for washing away the acid around the gums and teeth.

mouth signs of type 2 diabetes
Representation. silviarita - Pixabay

As per Diabetes.co.uk, those who have diabetes are more prone to suffer from a dry mouth because of high levels of glucose in their saliva and blood. Other possible causes of a dry mouth would be a number of medications, dehydration, and smoking.

Obviously, the lack of moisture from your mouth signals a dry mouth. However, there are still other symptoms that you must be aware of. Aside from lacking moisture, the corners of your mouth would get easily irritated. The gums also oftentimes suffer from inflammation.

More Dry Mouth Signs

If you have had a recent course of antibiotics, it’s possible that you will suffer from oral thrush. These are the fungal or yeast infections that would affect the cheeks and the tongue. You can find white patches appearing on your mouth if you have oral thrush. This is also a sign of dry mouth.

You may also suffer from redness of the tongue. Cracking of the corner of the lips, plus the skin, can also signal a dry mouth. These are among the symptoms that could lead to a lot of discomfort. Hence, to be able to arrest the condition, you also need to keep your blood sugar levels under control. You can do this by keeping an active lifestyle and eating healthy.