Oral Manifestations of Suspected Eating Disorders among Women of 20-25 Years in Bangalore City, India

To detect the presence of eating disorders (EDs) and clinical findings in 20-25 years old women residing in professional college hostels in Bangalore city, India, a cross-sectional study was conducted. One hundred seventeen women of the 128 selected randomly participated in the study. SCOFF [Sick, Control, One-stone (14 lbs/6.5 kg), Fat, Food] Questionnaire was used for screening suspected cases of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Examination was done for systemic findings, extra-oral and intra-oral manifestations of EDs. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS (version 13.0). The response rate was 71.3%, of which 42.7% were suspected to have EDs by SCOFF. Examination showed significantly higher prevalence of periomylolysis (p=0.004), dental caries (p=0.004), and tooth sensitivity (p=0.001) in suspected cases. The study succeeded at ‘case-finding’ of EDs with a significant prevalence of oral manifestations in suspected cases. Thus, dentists play a major role for early detection and prompt further referral of co-morbid disorders, like EDs.