If you're thinking about skipping your regular visit to your dentist, think again.

A New York University nursing-dental research team has discovered that those who have periodontal (gum) disease are also at high risk for diabetes. The same researchers concluded that dentists should consider offering diabetes screenings in their offices.

Using guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association, the team determined that 93 percent of subjects who had periodontal disease were considered high risk for diabetes and should be screened for the disease.

Dentists won't hand out diabetes diagnoses; but, researchers are encouraging dentists to screen patients for diabetes by evaluating other risk factors: obesity, belonging to a high-risk ethnic group, having high blood pressure, having a relative with the disease or having given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds. Dentists could also use a glucometer - a tool that measures blood glucose - to analyze blood samples.

At the end of the diabetes evaluation, a dentist might recommend that the patient see a doctor for a true diabetes screening.

Visit AOL Health to learn more about diagnosing diabetes.

In my previous post, I looked at a RAND Corporation study of undiagnosed diabetes - something that continues to be a big problem. Now I want to zero in on one aspect of that study that really caught my eye. According to the sole author, James P. Smith, talk of a type 2 diabetes epidemic is over-exaggerated.

Hang on a minute. Aren't we always hearing about the so-called epidemic proportions of diabetes' spread in the US and globally? And aren't cities like New York taking steps to track the spread of diabetes, keeping tabs on its growth just as you'd do with a contagious epidemic outbreak of, say, tuberculosis? Well, yes. But Smith isn't buying it.

During the twenty-five-year period included in the study, Smith says diagnosis of men with diabetes more than doubled. However, it's a tricky thing to take diagnosis rates and translate them into prevalence rates. That is, more people being diagnosed with a disease may simply mean we're getting better at diagnosing the problem. We may think we're seeing astronomical growth rates in diabetes when in fact it's probably a combination of increased diabetes and more efficient diagnosis.

Which is not to say Smith is denying that the spread of type 2 diabetes is a serious issue: "Diabetes is one of the major health challenges faced across the United States," he says, "but these finding suggest that the prevalence of the disease is not growing as rapidly as often claimed."

James P. Smith is RAND's corporate chair of labor market and demographic studies. RAND is a nonprofit research organization.

The pleasure of blogging for you hits me with a sobering realization. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. When I say this is a gratifying experience, those words pale in comparison to how I really feel. It is my hope that everything I share with you serves a purpose for you, as much as it proves to be therapeutic for me. When I divulge to people that I'm a blogger, they seem to react with surprise. Popular opinion about blogs is that most of them are crafted by unqualified characters that use the Internet as public property to launch personal attacks. Not me.

I don't write this stuff, willy-nilly. I have a fair amount of experience in diabetes. I have seen a lot and I have done even more. I've been a passenger on the D-Train since July 5, 1985. That was my date of diagnosis, at the ripe age of 7. I look back and laugh because one of the most imprisoning events of my life happened just after Independence Day. I was at the beach watching fireworks, eating Vienna Finger cookies, and dying of thirst. Literally. The next day, my parents hauled me into Dr. Wu's office and my baptizing blood sugar was well over 300. I don't remember the number exactly. But I do remember we didn't go home. My parents took me to the hospital by way of McDonald's. I had a Happy Meal. How's that for foreshadowing?

The information I share with you comes from the battlefields. My purpose here is of greatest importance - your benefit. The enlightenment I share, and the feedback you provide, is what I treasure most. Today I give thanks to all of you reading The Diabetes Blog. Have a happy and safe Holiday Season!