Dental Implants for a Patient with Eating Disorders

Dental Implants

Eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia affect up to 24 million people in the United States.  These conditions most often cause sensitivity and erosion of the natural teeth, loss of enamel and occlusal (bite) instability.  Treatment often requires full coverage restorations (crowns) to replace the lost tooth structure. However, these teeth are still subject to a very high rate of recurrent decay, leading to their eventually being non-restorable.

Dental implants are made of titanium and are impervious to the bacteria that cause decay.  If teeth in patients with these disorders need to be removed, they can be predictably replaced with dental implants.
An article in the Journal of Prosthodontics describes the removal of upper front teeth in a patient with immediate placement of dental implants and new temporary crowns, using the NobelGuide protocol.
Dental implant placement maintains the jawbone.  The implants are the closest thing to natural teeth available in dentistry today.


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309