Can Eating Disorders affect your mouth?

Eating disorders are extremely serious health issue in our society today. Most of the time your dentist or hygienist will be the first healthcare provider to detect and diagnose these disorders. It is more common in young females.

Anorexia, bulimia and binge eaters are the most common eating disorders and have negative effects on the body. Most common negative effects are weight loss, hair loss, constipation, bloating, tiredness, heart problems and irregular or missing  menstrual cycle. 

Anorexic people limit their food and drink intakes from the fear of gaining weight. They also do excessive exercise, vomiting, taking laxatives or use an enema.

Bulimic people taking in excessive amounts of  food/calories in one sitting and expelling food/calories through excessive exercise, or forcing themselves to vomit.

Binge eater eating faster than normal, eating until feel uncomfortably full, eating a lot even though they do not feel hungry, eating alone due to embarrassment.

Those eating disorders affect the mouth and the teeth. It can cause dry mouth, dry lips, enlarged salivary glands, teeth erosion, sensitive teeth as well as mouth sores.

People suffering from those eating disorder should get help  from mental health provider as well as dental professionals.

Maintain good oral hygiene, more frequent dental visits, dry mouth remedies, restorative option for eroded teeth will help to minimize complication of this eating disorder. Please talk to you dentist if you are suffering from any of eating disorder. 

Our dental team at 130 Lincoln St Worcester, MA will help you to get through these eating disorder. Please call or text 508-756-5141.

Author

Nikhil Patel, DMD Dentist