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One may not often consider talk of eating disorders and tooth decay in the same sentence, but the two are actually quite related to one another. While not every person with bad teeth will have them because of eating disorders, every person with eating disorders will have bad teeth. Of course, the signs may not be noticeable at first but when the eating disorder, such as bulimia and anorexia, pass to a certain point, it will be impossible to hide it from the dentist. The very nature of these disorders cause problems that can potentially destroyl the teeth and lead to serious dental problems. If you or someone you know suffer from an eating disorder, then here are some things that you should consider about the way that it affects your oral health. First of all, bulimia involves the vomiting up of ingested foods. These foods have typically gone through stomach acids, which, on the way back up through the mouth, erode the tooth enamel, which protects the teeth and gives them strength. The more that a person engages in bulimia, the more damage these stomach acids can do to the mouth as a whole. It is for this reason that dentists are often the first people, who notice there is an eating disorder that needs medical attention. Secondly, anorexia involves the forced starvation of an individual in a self imposed manner. The more that a person engages in anorexia, the more likely he or she is to contract osteoporosis. This is a condition characterized by weakened bone structures, of which your jaw is one. Your jawline supports the teeth and when that structure is weakened, the teeth follow suit soon thereafter. Dentists are trained to notice these two conditions at work in the individual. They are, by far, the most common eating disorders out there, and it does not take them long to damage the teeth altogether. While some cosmetic dentistry procedures are in place to deal with the look of the teeth from a person with an eating disorder, there is nothing that a dentist can do about treating the condition itself. That is something that should receive prompt medical attention and perhaps even psychological counseling to get at the root of the issue. While eating disorders are related to oral hygiene, treating those disorders goes far beyond the mouth to the inner workings of the human brain. Living with an eating disorder is dangerous if you do not seek the proper help for it. Those that do have a high rate of success with overcoming the condition, but they don't always take that first step so necessary. Don't let an eating disorder affect your smile or your life. Get help immediately.
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