INDICATE-2

We are working with 50 high street dental practices across the UK to recruit up to 10,000 adult patients. Each participant will:

• Complete a diabetes risk questionnaire
• Provide a finger-prick blood sample (HbA1c test)
• Be invited to provide a saliva sample for future research

If a patient’s HbA1c result indicates they are at risk of type 2 diabetes, they will be referred to their GP for further medical assessment and care.

Dental teams are uniquely positioned to support early detection of diabetes. Unlike GP visits, dental check-ups are routine—even when patients feel well. Dentists already advise on lifestyle factors like diet, smoking, and weight management, which are also key risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Importantly, there is a two-way relationship between diabetes and periodontitis (gum disease):

• People with diabetes are more likely to develop gum disease
• Gum disease can worsen blood sugar control and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes

This makes the dental setting an ideal place to identify patients at risk and support early intervention.

This study will:

• Validate two diabetes risk tools—the Diabetes Risk assessment in Dentistry Score (DDS) and the Leicester Risk Assessment (LRA)—in a diverse UK dental population
• Estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed NDH and type 2 diabetes in a multi-ethnic, pan-socioeconomic population
• Track the medical follow-up of patients identified as high-risk in dental settings

Saliva samples will be biobanked and, subject to additional funding, analysed to test patented biomarker panels for non-invasive, point-of-care diabetes and periodontal diagnostics.

This research supports the NHS England Commissioning Standard on Dental Care for People with Diabetes, which encourages dental teams to engage in risk assessment/early case detection of undiagnosed NDH/diabetes and to refer onwards for formal diagnosis and management

This study is led by the University of Birmingham and is funded by Haleon and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Contact us via e-mail: indicate2@contacts.bham.ac.uk.