It has long been known that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can seriously compromise oral health, both because of the resulting nutritional deficiencies (in particular of micronutrients such as vitamin C) and because of the erosion of tooth enamel caused by repeated episodes of self-induced vomiting, which can even lead to actual carious lesions.
What had never been considered, however, is that oral care can (together with other targeted psychological interventions) help patients with eating disorders improve how they perceive their own state of health, potentially even helping them break free of their disorder.
This is what is emerging from a large study under way at the University Clinic of Ferrara, led by Professor Leonardo Trombelli, a member of the Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology, together with other researchers. The study is assessing the impact of eating disorders on oral health and the effect of therapeutic and preventive care aimed specifically at the mouth on these patients’ quality of life.
The findings suggest that treating the gum condition of the patients involved would lead not only to an improvement in their oral health, but also to an improvement in how patients perceive their own oral health. After dental treatment, the patients involved had both a better perception of their chewing function and less psychological discomfort about their “smile”.
Reducing this discomfort is an important aspect for these patients, explains Professor Trombelli, and could have a profound impact on their self-perception, on how satisfied they are with their physical appearance and therefore on their self-esteem, which is generally compromised in eating disorders.
