Diabetes mellitus is presently considered as one of the most frequent chronic disease, thus, it is important to know what its most relevant buccal disorders are.Study the different signs and symptoms that diabetic patients present in the oral cavity. Assess the status of oral hygiene and prevalence of dental caries in a diabetic population in regards to a control population.We have performed the study on 70 diabetic patients (30 men and 40 women) whose ages ranged from 11 to 81 years, and a control population of 74 non-diabetic (29 men and 45 women) whose ages ranged from 11 to 75 years. Within the diabetic population, the type of diabetes, degree of control of their disease by glycosylated hemoglobin, diabetes evolution time and existence of late complications were assessed. Oral hygiene was measured with the O'Leary plaque index. The prevalence of caries was studied with the CAOD index.The oral hygiene status was significantly worse in the diabetic patients in regards to the controls after 56 years of age. We did not find any significant differences in the prevalence of caries or in the CAOD index, although this was slightly higher in the diabetic patients. The study of the diabetic patients showed that only the type and evolution of their disease were significant parameters in relationship to the number of caries, while no significance was found on the plaque index for any of the parameters analyzed.In this study, we have observed a larger number of dental absences in the diabetic population in regards to a healthy population. We have found no differences in the number of caries, absences and obturations based on metabolic control, evolution time and existence of late complications of diabetes.