Can I get dental implants if I have diabetes?

Often, yes. With well-controlled diabetes, implants generally do well. Poorly controlled diabetes is linked to slower healing, more infections and more inflammation around implants later on. There's no single HbA1c cut-off: the surgeon decides for your case, which is why we ask for a recent result before booking and arrange an endocrinology review before surgery.

Does treating gum disease help my diabetes?

Modestly. A 2022 Cochrane review found that gum treatment lowered HbA1c by about 0.4 percentage points at three to four months, and about 0.3 at six months, compared with no treatment or usual care. It's worth doing for your teeth and gums anyway, but it doesn't replace diabetes medicines, diet or exercise.

What if my HbA1c is high?

Then we won't plan elective surgery yet. Gum treatment, cleaning and an endocrinology review can still go ahead, and they're often the right first step. Implants can follow on a later trip, once your glucose control has improved.

I have type 1 diabetes. Can I join?

Yes. The main risk on treatment days is low blood sugar, so appointments are booked in the morning after breakfast, and you should carry fast-acting glucose. Agree with your own diabetes team before you travel how to manage insulin around treatment and across time zones.

How much does a diabetes dental tour cost?

It depends on the dental treatment, which only a dentist can confirm after seeing your X-rays, plus the endocrinology tests, the route and hotels. Send us an X-ray, your HbA1c and your dates, and we'll reply with an itemised quote.

Who looks after me when I get home?

You leave with written summaries in English from both the dentist and the endocrinologist, plus X-rays and blood results, so your dentist and doctor at home can carry on. Your coordinator stays in touch after the trip.

Photo: Niklas Dougherty · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Diabetes dental tours · 2026

Teeth and diabetes,
treated together.

Diabetes and gum disease feed each other, and diabetes changes how implants should be planned. These four routes put an endocrinologist and a dentist on the same trip: your diabetes is reviewed first, the dental work is planned around it, and the sightseeing is paced around meals and glucose checks.

Plan my trip

Routes

Four routes,
planned around your glucose.

A still pond in the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, reflecting autumn trees, red maples, a pavilion and a distant pagoda

Shanghai 上海 · 8 days / 7 nights

Shanghai · Gum Care & Diabetes Review

Treat the gums and check the diabetes in the same week, with gardens in between.

Program: Gum treatment + diabetes review

View route

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge at the Summer Palace in late-afternoon winter light over frozen Kunming Lake

Beijing 北京 · 8 days / 7 nights

Beijing · Implants with Diabetes

Implants planned around your diabetes, at a national dental centre.

Program: Implants with diabetes · two trips

View route

Giant pandas eating bamboo at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Chengdu 成都 · 9 days / 8 nights

Chengdu · Gum Care & Implants at West China

Both halves of your care at Sichuan University, with pandas and teahouses.

Program: Implants with diabetes · two trips

View route

Leifeng Pagoda on a wooded hill across the calm water of Hangzhou's West Lake, framed by a weeping willow

Hangzhou 杭州 · 5 days / 4 nights

Hangzhou · Dental & Diabetes Check-up

A short trip to find out where your teeth and your diabetes stand.

Program: Dental + diabetes check-up

View route

Not sure which trip you need?

Tell us about your teeth, your latest HbA1c and how long you have. We'll recommend a route and program — free, within 48 hours.

Help me choose Get a free quote

Programs

Three kinds of trip.

Most asked

Gum treatment + diabetes review

Gum disease is more common and more severe with diabetes, and the two affect each other. One trip of about a week: deep cleaning of the gums over two or more visits, plus an endocrinologist's review of your glucose control and medicines.

Planned

Implants with diabetes · two trips

Implants are an option when diabetes is well controlled. We ask for a recent HbA1c before booking; on trip 1 an endocrinologist and the implant surgeon both see you before surgery. The final crown comes on trip 2, after healing.

Short trip

Dental + diabetes check-up

A dental examination with X-rays, gum assessment and cleaning, alongside an endocrinology review and blood tests. The right first step if you don't yet know what you need, or whether implants suit you.

Any route can be adapted to any program. For diabetes programs on their own, see our diabetes care guide.

Compare

All routes at a glance

Route	Setting	Program	Best for	Length
Shanghai · Gum Care & Diabetes Review	The Bund · Former French Concession · Yu Garden	Gum treatment + diabetes review	Gum disease (bleeding gums, loose teeth) with type 1 or type 2 diabetes	8 days / 7 nights
Beijing · Implants with Diabetes	Summer Palace · Temple of Heaven · Hutongs around Houhai	Implants with diabetes · two trips	One to three missing teeth with well-controlled type 1 or type 2 diabetes	8 days / 7 nights
Chengdu · Gum Care & Implants at West China	Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding · People's Park teahouse · Wenshu Monastery	Implants with diabetes · two trips	Gum disease plus missing teeth, with type 1 or type 2 diabetes	9 days / 8 nights
Hangzhou · Dental & Diabetes Check-up	West Lake & Su Causeway · Longjing tea village · Lingyin Temple	Dental + diabetes check-up	A first assessment of teeth, gums and diabetes; travellers already in Shanghai	5 days / 4 nights

How it works

Diabetes sets the plan.

Before you fly

Plan from home

Send a recent HbA1c, your medicine list and a dental X-ray if you have one. We tell you which program fits before anything is booked.

Days 1–3

Diabetes first, then teeth

An endocrinologist reviews your control and medicines; the dentist sees those results before treating. Appointments are in the morning, after breakfast.

Rest of trip

Recover while you travel

Flat, gentle sightseeing, meals on time, extra glucose checks after treatment, and written summaries for your dentist and doctor at home.

Have an HbA1c and an X-ray?

Send them over. A dentist tells you whether gum treatment or implants make sense, and whether one trip or two.

Send my results Implants with diabetes

FAQ

Diabetes Dental Tours — answered.

Can I get dental implants if I have diabetes?: Often, yes. With well-controlled diabetes, implants generally do well. Poorly controlled diabetes is linked to slower healing, more infections and more inflammation around implants later on. There's no single HbA1c cut-off: the surgeon decides for your case, which is why we ask for a recent result before booking and arrange an endocrinology review before surgery.
Does treating gum disease help my diabetes?: Modestly. A 2022 Cochrane review found that gum treatment lowered HbA1c by about 0.4 percentage points at three to four months, and about 0.3 at six months, compared with no treatment or usual care. It's worth doing for your teeth and gums anyway, but it doesn't replace diabetes medicines, diet or exercise.
What if my HbA1c is high?: Then we won't plan elective surgery yet. Gum treatment, cleaning and an endocrinology review can still go ahead, and they're often the right first step. Implants can follow on a later trip, once your glucose control has improved.
I have type 1 diabetes. Can I join?: Yes. The main risk on treatment days is low blood sugar, so appointments are booked in the morning after breakfast, and you should carry fast-acting glucose. Agree with your own diabetes team before you travel how to manage insulin around treatment and across time zones.
How much does a diabetes dental tour cost?: It depends on the dental treatment, which only a dentist can confirm after seeing your X-rays, plus the endocrinology tests, the route and hotels. Send us an X-ray, your HbA1c and your dates, and we'll reply with an itemised quote.
Who looks after me when I get home?: You leave with written summaries in English from both the dentist and the endocrinologist, plus X-rays and blood results, so your dentist and doctor at home can carry on. Your coordinator stays in touch after the trip.

Pick a route,
we’ll handle the rest.

Tell us your dates, your latest HbA1c and what's going on with your teeth. We'll match the hospitals and program, then send an itemised quote.

Plan my trip Dental tours

Teeth and diabetes,
treated together.