Rumination Syndrome and Dental Erosions in Children

Rumination syndrome is the effortless regurgitation of recently ingested food with subsequent reswallowing or spitting out. Dental erosion (DE) affects 2% to 5% of the population. DE is defined as loss of tooth structure by a chemical process that does not involve bacteria. Our objective was to compare the frequency of DE among children with rumination syndrome with healthy controls. We enrolled 30 patients 4 to 21 years of age diagnosed with rumination syndrome, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Patients were evaluated by pediatric dentists for presence of DE with Taji et al a validated grading system. Patients with rumination were more likely to have DE (P < 0.001). Of patients with rumination syndrome, 23 (77%) had DE, compared with 4 (13%) control subjects. DEs are more frequent in patients with rumination syndrome.