Children's teeth hold clues to detecting eating disorders
OAK BROOK, IL, January 18, 1999 – No longer are eating disorders deemed afflictions of young women between the ages of 15 and 25. Now they are exacting their toll among younger victims. Bulimia and anorexia are destructive diseases that can be deadly for children and young adults.
Sadly, studies report that the incidence of eating disorders is moving down the age scale. And in a recent survey, approximately 80 percent of fourth-graders had already been on a diet.
"What is frightening is that children fail to understand the short- and long-term effects of anorexia and bulimia as well as the importance of nutrition to their development," says Robert Dennison, DMD, Chairperson, Dental Policy, Delta Dental Plans Association (Delta Dental). "Delta Dental is concerned about these trends."
The ratio of boys to girls is now about 1 to 9 as compared to 1 to 19 in previous years. And the situation is becoming worse as, according to one poll, young girls today are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents.
Dentists are trained to recognize certain symptoms of bulimia and anorexia such as sensitive teeth as a result of chronic vomiting, excessive tooth decay, dry mouth and swelling of the parotid glands. For the most part, people are unaware of the destruction eating disorders can cause in their mouths.
"Dentists are able to detect bulimia and anorexia by checking for telltale conditions of the teeth," reports Dennison, "In addition to regular visits to the family doctors, children should visit their dentists, especially during their teenage years. Dentists may sometimes be in a better position to identify the early symptoms of eating disorders than the family physician."
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