How eating disorders affect your teeth

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An eating disorder can cause lingering or even permanent damage to your teeth and mouth. The harmful habits and nutritional deficiencies that often accompany bulimia (compulsive eating and bingeing) and anorexia (restriction of food intake) can have severe consequences on your oral health. In fact, people with eating disorders have more than eight times the risk of experiencing tooth erosion.

Contributing factors

  • Lack of proper nutrition: Food restriction can lead to a deficiency of calcium, iron, vitamin D, and other nutrients needed for good dental health.

  • Insufficient calcium: Because it plays a role in making jawbones healthy and strong, a lack of calcium can cause teeth to loosen and possibly fall out. If you don’t get enough calcium through your diet, your body will draw it from other sources like your bones and teeth.

  • Lack of vitamin D: The body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Vitamin D also plays a role in your immune system by serving as an anti-inflammatory. It can also help fight gum disease.

  • Iron deficiency: Iron transports oxygen throughout your body. Your ability to fight infections decreases if you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells.

  • Overeating and reflux: Binge eating can cause an excess of stomach acid. When it backs up into the esophagus, it causes heartburn. If stomach acid reaches the mouth, it can burn the oral tissues and disintegrate your teeth.

  • Vomiting: Purging food by self-induced vomiting brings harsh acid from the stomach. Repeated vomiting leads to strong stomach acid repeatedly flowing over the teeth, which wears away enamel. The erosion can cause tooth enamel to appear translucent, greatly increasing the risk of tooth decay. Tooth decay can also be aggravated by extensive tooth brushing or rinsing after vomiting.

  • Dry mouth: Vomiting and/or poor nutrition can cause saliva glands to swell. This can lead to chronic dry mouth, making it hard to neutralize the acidity in your mouth. This increases the risk of developing cavities, tooth loss, and infections in the mouth.

Good oral hygiene and eating disorders

According to the American Dental Association, if you suffer from an eating disorder, these practices can reduce oral health problems associated with it:

  • Rinse your mouth with tap water after vomiting and wait at least 20 minutes before brushing your teeth.

  • Brush teeth vertically from the gum line toward the ends. This allows the bristles of the toothbrush to reach in between the teeth. Use a flexible toothbrush and nonabrasive toothpaste, ideally one formulated for protecting tooth enamel.

Prevent damage to your teeth

If you have an eating disorder, your dentist can suggest ways to protect your teeth.

  • Fluoride treatments can strengthen tooth enamel

  • Toothpaste, gum, or mints containing a sugar substitute called xylitol can also help promote the production of saliva, preventing dry mouth and cavities

  • A mouthguard can minimize the effects of stomach acid on your teeth

If you have an eating disorder, it’s important that you see your dentist regularly and consult with them about your specific treatment needs.

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