• Women's Dental Health
• Women's Breath
• Periodontal Disease & Women
• Burning Mouth
• Osteoporosis & Gum Disease
• Osteoporosis: Are You at Risk?
• Easy Tips for a Bright Smile
• Nutrition and Oral Health in Pregnant Women
• Eating Disorders and Dentistry
• Crash Dieting and Your Oral Health
• TMJ Dysfunction Linked to STD's
• Birth Control and Extractions
• Underweight Babies Linked to Gum Disease
• Hormonal Replacement Therapy & Dentistry
• Hormonal Replacement and Periodontal Disease
• Women and Snoring
• Snoring Women at Higher Risk for Heart Disease
• Women, Stress and Dentistry
• Birth Control and Gum Disease

Women's

Eating disorders and dentistry

Eating disorders are expressions of a range of weight and food issues that both men and women can experience. They can include a complex combination of both psychological and physical problems.  Different forms of eating disorders exist and all are serious.

The different types of disorders are:

• Anorexia Nervosa - a person has the intense fear that fat and weight gain  will occur. They often have drastic weight loss.
• Bulimia Nervosa - a person binges and eats an enormous amount of food,  then purges (vomits), through self-induction, the food they have just eaten.  The prevalence of bulimia amongst adolescents is 1 to 3 percent of the  population according to the American  Psychiatric Association. Females usually  outnumber males 10 to 1.

This disorder is of most importance to dentists, due to the excessive amount  of enamel wear the person may have. This results from the excessive vomiting, where the gastric contents, which are highly acidic, erode the enamel  surfaces over time. This leads to thinning of the enamel and eventual chipping of the teeth.

The most notable areas where tooth structure is lost is on the lingual (or tongue surface)  part of the upper anterior teeth. What parents may notice is shorter than normal incisor  teeth. The teeth may also have color changes, most notably from a whitish color  to a brownish or grayish color. Fillings (amalgam type), may also begin to  appear more prominent on the back teeth due to the enamel wear surrounding  the fillings. People are urged to monitor other signs, some of which include a  marked increase or decrease in weight, not due to any other medical problem,   withdrawn behavior, excessive, compulsive exercising, irritability, and intense  preoccupation with body and weight image.

Other eating disorders exist that may not necessarily fit anorexia or bulimia nervosa. If one suspects that this condition exists, medical consultation is very  important due to the possible life threatening results.

Dentists and hygienists can help diagnose if excessive wear or abnormal oral pathology  exists, especially with the enamel damage that can occur with excessive  vomiting. They can help the patient minimize further oral complications until  further medical and psychological therapy has brought the condition under  control.