How Eating Disorders Can Lead to Tooth Decay
Several factors lead to tooth decay. One of these factors is eating disorders. This is why dentists recommend good eating habits, as this can affect your oral health. If you do not eat foods and fruits that help your teeth, they can become weak and vulnerable to bacteria.
Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that need the intervention of psychological experts to help reverse the effects. These eating disorders can make you obsessed with your body shape, weight, and food. If left untreated, these disorders can adversely affect your body and oral health.
Let’s dive in and look at how eating disorder leads to tooth decay.
What Are the Dental Effects of Eating Disorders?
There are different eating disorders; each can affect your oral health differently.
First, there is overeating and reflux. Binge eating can create excess stomach acid. This excess stomach acid causes heartburn and backs up to the esophagus. If the acid reaches your mouth, it can erode the oral tissues and your teeth, leading to tooth decay.
Self-starvation is another eating disorder. This is where you desire to lose weight or maintain a certain shape. This eating disorder can lead to insufficient calcium, which plays a vital role in building strong teeth and bones. Lack of enough calcium can lead to weak teeth, which will gradually loosen up leading to tooth loss.
Self-starvation can also lead to insufficient vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential in calcium absorption. This vitamin plays a vital role in boosting your immune system and also aids in reducing swelling. On top of that, vitamin D can help fight gum disease. This means if you are anorexic, you won’t have this vitamin to fight gum disease.
Anorexia and binge eating can cause vomiting. A person who is anorexic will deliberately vomit food so that they don’t eat excess. On the other hand, a person who binge eats can vomit as they have consumed large amounts of food.
Vomit contains stomach acid, which can erode your teeth’s enamel. When vomiting becomes frequent, the enamel can appear translucent, which puts your teeth at risk of tooth decay. It would be best if you visited the Port Hueneme dental care so that the dentist can help treat the eating disorder to prevent tooth loss caused by tooth decay.
Poor nutrition can be caused by chewing and spitting disorders. Although this disorder is less known, it can trick your body into thinking there is food being ingested and acid is produced. The acid can cause mouth and oral ulcers, which are very painful and can affect your dental health.
In addition, chewing and spitting disorders can make it difficult for the patient to practice proper oral hygiene. This leads to plaque buildup leading to swollen glands, decay, and cavities.
How Can You Prevent Tooth Decay in People with Eating Disorders?
Therapists, dental nurses, dentists, and dental hygienists are all capable of detecting the early signs of eating disorders. This is why it is recommended that if you are worried of an eating disorder, visit a dental care facility like Port Hueneme dental care, as the dentists can prevent the disorder from affecting your oral health.
However, there are times that the eating disorder has impacted your oral health. For instance, binge eating can cause tooth decay. Once you visit a dentist, they can recommend different treatment options, depending on the decay’s severity. One of the options is oral surgery to remove a severely decayed tooth. This will prevent the spread of the decay to the other healthy teeth.
High fluoride toothpaste can be essential in protecting your teeth from decay. If you have an eating disorder, the dentist can recommend using a varnish or a high fluoride toothpaste to protect your teeth from bacteria that cause decay and cavities.
A dental check-up is also essential in preventing tooth decay. The dentist will examine your teeth and look for possible signs of injuries and tooth erosion caused by putting objects in your mouth to induce vomiting.
Eating disorders can affect your general well-being and oral health. But, do not let the disorders affect your teeth too. Instead, visit All Care Dental by the Sea, and our dentists will first help fix the eating disorder and treat your teeth to ensure you can smile again.