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Clinical and microbiological investigations of anorexia nervosa

1991; Wiley; Volume: 36; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1834-7819.1991.tb04722.x

1834-7819

V. P. Liew, K. W. Frisken, Stephen Touyz, P. J. V. Beumont, Horace R. Williams,

Dental Health and Care Utilization

Abstract Several studies have examined the relationship between anorexia nervosa and oral status. However, none has used control subjects. Furthermore, none has examined bacteriological data in these subjects to determine whether dietary restrictions, particularly of carbohydrates, change the levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus species. Fifteen female subjects recently hospitalized for anorexia were studied along with fifteen age‐ and sex‐matched control subjects. The parameters examined included salivary pH and flow rate, levels of S. mutans and Lactobacillus spp., DMFT scores, facial and palatal plaque scores, periodontal pocketing, gingival recession and bleeding following gentle probing. Compared with control subjects, anorexics had significantly lower salivary pH (7.1 ± 0.4 vs 7.6 ± 0.3, p<0.01), more facial and lingual surfaces with plaque scores of 1 (facial plaque 38 per cent vs 18 per cent, p<0.01, lingual plaque 47 per cent vs 29 per cent, p<0.01), more surfaces with gingival recession (1 mm‐7.9 per cent vs 1.8 per cent, p<0.001; 2 mm‐1.7 per cent vs 0.2 per cent, p<0.001; >2 mm‐0.6 per cent vs 0.0 per cent, p<0.001), more surfaces with bleeding on probing (16.9 per cent vs 6.5 per cent, p<0.001) and fewer sextants with CPITN scores of 0 (1.9 ± 1.5 vs 3.2 ± 1.0, p<0.01). The results of this study indicate that prolonged periods of dietary restriction did not result in changes to some bacteria implicated in caries and nor did it result in lower DMFT rates or salivary flow but did result in more acidic saliva. Furthermore, anorexics are more likely to show changes indicative of gingivitis and recession but not necessarily of periodontitis compared with control subjects.