Former Emmerdale star Gemma Oaten has revealed she had all of her top teeth after battling eating disorders. The 38-year-old actress, who played Rachel Breckle in the ITV soap, has suffered from anorexia and bulimia, which caused irreparable damage to her enamel.
After undergoing life-changing dentistry Gemma cried tears of joy as she got her smile back for the first time in about 20 years. The soap star, who last year played Isla Haywood in Coronation Street, told her denist Dr Harry Davis: You have changed the course of my life."
Sharing her relief in an emotional video posted on her Instagram, along with the tearful moment she saw the end result in his London Harley Street clinic, she told fans: "I have my teeth back. I have not had this for 20 years. The bulimia stripped all my enamel and I've always been so self conscious and now I've got a full set of teeth."
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Speaking out about her journey Gemma said she wants others to 'not feel ashamed' if they have eating disorder and to encourage them to seek support. Her dentist also shared her story as he explained the procedure.
"Not just a before and after picture," he wrote. "This wonderful patient had sadly suffered throughout her whole life with severe anorexia and bulimia.
"Eating disorders have a devastating effect on dental health and can often lead to young patients needing extensive treatment to help restore function and aesthetics.
"Due to multiple failing root canals, decay under existing crowns and broken roots throughout the upper arch, my team and I placed six implants and restored with an immediate bridge. (This is only a provisional).
"We then rebuilt up the lost enamel on the lower teeth with composite veneers. This helps to improve function, aesthetics and will prevent further accelerated erosion of the exposed dentine."
He added: "@gemma.oaten thank you for trusting me with your smile. I’m delighted to see how it has changed your life!" On Monday morning Gemma, who had a 13 year battle with eating disorders which began when she was just 10-years-old, summoned the courage to share photos of her gleaming new smile with fans as well as 'before' photos of her damaged teeth.
"Six weeks after surgery... Finally feel brave enough and ready to share my new smile," she Instagrammed. I've not had my smile for, I would say, 17 years. The anorexia and bulimia robbed me of it.
"But no one talks about it. No one talks about how ALL eating disorders rob those affected of so much. No one talks about the pain and physical effects because they are made to feel ashamed.
"No one talks about eating disorders and the effect on teeth, and I wish to god someone had when I was struggling, if they had I may not have had to lose all my top teeth... but I'll use this as I always do, to grow flowers where dirt used to be in the hope it helps others.
Gemma then added: "This stigma must end. An eating disorder is NOT a choice." The star landed the role of Rachel in Emmerdale in 2011.
Fourteen years ago she was discharged from therapy for the eating disorders that had blighted her life for 13 years. She is now manager and patron of Seed’s Manager and patron of the eating disorder support service Seed.
Speaking on GB News with hosts Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster she said: “This is one of the parts of the eating disorder that people don't discuss because your teeth are integral to life and to think that they could go, it’s not something that you want to even contemplate.
“An eating disorder is very manipulative, it's very secretive., it makes you feel very ashamed. I know because I felt disgusted. I was made to feel disgusting by my dentist when I was younger. I remember going to the dentist when the acid was eroding my teeth.”
She continued: “I felt so much less of a person for so many years. And I think this is what a lot of people with eating disorders feel like. They feel like they haven't got a voice and they lose identity because the eating disorder takes that away.
"It's a mental health illness but I do feel like now I've actually got the chance of moving forward with my life.” Gemma told them about her journey: “I recovered 14 years ago but the journey is ongoing. The ramifications on my physical health have been vast.
“It's been a massive shock to the system but a lot of people I've spoken to about out about it are going through this. Early intervention is the key.
“The sooner you get help, the sooner somebody can come back from the brink of losing their life - I don't just mean physically losing their life, but mentally losing their life for all of these years. It's an incredibly serious illness.”
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