Objective: To assess the utilisation of dental services among diabetic adults according to diabetes-related factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 dentate diabetics, attending a diabetic clinic in Tehran, Iran, in 2005. Mean age of the study subjects (26% men) was 50 years (SD 7.6; range 30-69); 62% maintained a satisfactory level of diabetic control (HbA1c < 7.5). A self-administered questionnaire was given to the diabetics invited to a dental clinic and collected during the appointment. The questions covered gender, age, level of education, year of onset of diabetes, diabetes-related complications, level of diabetic control (HbA1c), use of dental services, and reason for the most recent dental visit. The alternatives for time intervals since the last dental visit were: within 12 months, 1-2 years ago, 3-5 years ago, more than 5 years ago, and I do not remember. Alternatives for reasons of that visit included: pain and emergency, regular check-up, preparing or repairing a denture, tooth extraction, other reason, and I do not remember. Statistical evaluation was by Chi-square test. Results: For 15% of all respondents a regular dental check-up was the reason for their last dental visit (16% of women and 14% of men; p>0.05), with higher figures (p=0.003) for subjects with a higher level of education (21%) than for those with a lower level (6%). Of all the subjects 47% (48% of women and 44% of men, p>0.05) reported visiting the dentist within the past 12 months. Those with diabetes-related complications reported less frequent dental visits (38%) than did those without complications (54%, p=0.02). The two main reasons for the most recent dental visit were tooth extraction (21%) and pain (22%). Conclusion: The proper use of dental services, especially the need for regular dental check-ups among diabetic adults, requires greater emphasis to promote their oral health.