Moving from recognising to responding to oral health needs in eating disorders: matters arising from Gidlund et al., 2025

Gidlund and colleagues' recent study highlights the profound unmet dental care needs of people with eating disorders, extending earlier work that showed oral health can remain a visible scar long after illness. Their findings reveal how shame, stigma, and systemic barriers prevent timely care, while oral rehabilitation can play a vital role in restoring dignity, hope, and identity. The study strengthens the case for viewing dental complications not as secondary impacts of eating disorders, but as core symptoms that demand timely, evidence-based, and compassionate care. Meeting this challenge requires a shift from recognition to response. This includes changes to clinical practice, where harm-reduction approaches and sensitive communication are essential; to health systems and policy, where equitable access and interdisciplinary pathways must be established; and within research, where coproduced interventions and longitudinal studies can provide the evidence base that is currently lacking. Oral health should no longer be treated as an afterthought in eating disorder care but recognised as an integral part of recovery.