Graduation date: 2007
Each year an estimated one million young women in the United States develop an eating disorder. Without early recognition of symptoms and early intervention/treatment, these eating disorders can lead to a host of chronic and debilitating illnesses.
Tooth erosion is one of the first signs of an eating disorder, providing dentists with a unique role in detecting potential problems. Little is known about what dentists do with patients suspected of an eating disorder and importantly, no guidelines exist to assist the dentists.
The purpose of this study was to: 1) identify potential strategies that experts believe are important for dentists to utilize when intervening with patients suspected of an eating disorder, 2) determine the nature and extent of current intervention strategies for eating disorders by dentists, 3) identify factors that influence dentist delivery of intervention strategies for eating disorders.
The study consisted of two parts; Part I involved a sample of 30 experts and utilized a two round Delphi survey to elicit information about potential strategies dentists could use in eating disorder interventions. In Part II of the study, another survey instrument was developed to assess whether or not dentists were utilizing any of the expert recommended strategies identified in Part I. The survey was mailed to a stratified, proportional, random sample of 763 dentists from four regions in the state of Oregon.
Results of Part I indicated that experts agreed on nine potential intervention strategies that dentists should be doing with patients suspected of an eating disorder. Results of Part II indicated that the majority of dentists were not using any of the intervention strategies on a regular basis. A five block hierarchical model assessed potential associations between independent variables and frequency of dentist intervention strategies in clinical practice. Although all blocks were statistically significant, perceived barriers was the predictor block that explained the most variance in the dependent variable.
By defining the roles and responsibilities of dentists in intervening with eating disordered patients, dentists would have an essential framework of options to assist patients in seeking help in the earliest stages of an eating disorder.