In the U.S. alone at least 20 million women and 10 million men have suffered from a eating disorder at some time in their life. This is a distressing statistic!
Eating disorders are very serious emotional and physical problems that can have life altering consequences, including damaging effects on your oral health.
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa, bulimia and binge eating are all eating disorders. While they differ in many ways - one thing they all have in common is they all include regurgitation—throwing up— as one of the symptom. When a person regurgitates, their stomach acid comes up and it is severely damaging to the teeth.
Oral Health Effects of Eating Disorders
The acid in the stomach is actually similar in strength to battery acid. Battery acid has a PH of 1, and stomach acid has a PH of 2. The lower the PH number, the higher the acidity. Stomach acid has the ability to destroy tooth enamel, and once it’s gone, it is gone forever. Tooth enamel does not grow back, so we need to do everything possible to protect it and keep it healthy.
To make matters worse, after throwing up, most people will brush their teeth in an attempt to get rid of the bad taste and smell. This does not actually brush the acid away as it has already started to soften the outer enamel, so brushing immediately after throwing up is further damaging. It’s best to just simply rinse with water alone to help dilute the acid left in the mouth. Then, go back and brush at a later time to avoid doing any more damage to the softened enamel.
If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, it’s important to know that help available. Discuss with a trusted friend or family member to seek advice how to change this damaging behavior. Contact the Division of Family Health Services for direction and support.
Speak to your dentist If you think you already have loss of tooth enamel Highly concentrated fluoride is available by prescription, or a remineralizing toothpaste can be prescribed
Eating disorders can be overcome. By choosing to stop the destructive behavior and take good care of yourself and your oral health, you will be on your way to a lifetime of good overall health!
For further information, visit us at www.deltadentalnj.com
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