Since gum disease is strongly associated with diabetes, everyone with diabetes should have an annual dental checkup and cleaning of the teeth. The gum specialist will examine your gums and note any signs of inflammation after taking a proper medical history to identify conditions or risk factors. Your gums will be probed with a small ruler. This probing is a way to check for inflammation. It also measures small pockets (gap between tooth and gums) around the teeth. In a healthy mouth, the depth of these pockets is usually between 1 and 3 mm. This test for pocket depth is usually painless. They may also take an X-ray to see whether there is any disease of the tooth supporting the bone.