Question: I'm not even sure if this is ED related, but maybe someone here knows.
Are chipping teeth a sign of bone damage from anorexia? My teeth seem
to be wearing away; it hurts to brush them. My last dentist check-up
was a year ago, and everything was okay. I would have my answer if I
was throwing up, but that has never been a habit of mine. I haven't
gotten my period in four years (I'm 20 now), and bone scans have
already showed loss. I take Fosamax and calcium tablets, in addition to
eating plenty of calcium-rich foods. I have been maintaining a "normal"
weight (this is according to my physician) for some time now, except
I'm still not menstruating. So, I guess the question I'm asking is, do
you think my teeth are being affected by osteoporosis, or did I just
bite down too hard on a seed?
Answer:I don't think we've talked here before, but I thought I could probably
shed some light on this for you as I've been through the whole bone
depletion thing to the extent of losing 3 inches of height and being
permanently disabled.
Anorexia will certainly wreck your teeth. Not "affected by osteoporosis"
as such, as teeth aren't bone (technically, they're part of the
tegumentary system) but they can certainly be affected by massive
calcium depletion. When you're short of calcium and your estrogen levels
are low from amenorrhea, your body rips calcium out of bones and teeth
for more urgent uses in the body. If this goes on too long, you get the
familiar signs of osteoporosis setting in. Also the teeth become weak
and in extreme cases translucent -- my teeth (what's left of them after
25+ years of anorexia!) are literally see-through, a kind of pale, smoky
yellow-grey colour. Quite gruesome -- that's why I always keep my mouth
shut in photographs :)
I get a lot of cavities, cracking and surface erosion in my teeth, and
am a frequent visitor to the dentist. The added 'gotcha' for me is that
because my medical state is very poor at the moment I can't have any
form of anesthesia: even an injected local would be risky, and a general
would be lethal. Root fillings or extractions without any kind of
anesthesia are, err, not a bunch of fun :(
If you have continuing amenorrhea, you really should be on HRT, since in
the absence of adequate estrogen, all the calcium in the world won't
protect you from worsening osteoporosis -- please talk to your doctor
about this.
