Tooth loss
By The Treatment Registry editors
Tooth loss can be partial (one or more teeth missing) or full (edentulous). Causes include caries, periodontal disease, trauma, and developmental absence. Treatment options range from removable dentures to fixed bridges to implant-supported prostheses; choice depends on remaining bone, neighbouring teeth, and patient preference.
Clinical overview
Signs and symptoms
In humans the teeth support the lips and cheeks, maintain the vertical dimension of occlusion, contribute alongside the tongue and lips to the pronunciation of many sounds, preserve the height of the alveolar ridge and allow food to be cut, ground and chewed. When teeth are lost the vertical dimension of occlusion falls and the mouth tends to overclose, producing a sunken-in appearance of the cheeks and wrinkle lines at the commissures. Consonants such as s, z, d, n, l, t and th, which require tongue-to-tooth contact, and the fricatives f and v, which require lip-to-tooth contact, become difficult to enunciate. Tooth loss also carries a psychological impact, generally lowering quality of life and self-esteem, with patients often embarrassed to smile, eat and talk.
Causes and risk factors
Edentulism has multiple causes. In exceedingly rare cases the teeth never develop (anodontia), but in most cases it follows permanent tooth extraction in adulthood, which may result from dental caries, periodontal (gum) disease, trauma or other pathology of the face and mouth such as cysts or tumours. In people under 45 years of age dental caries is considered the main cause, whereas periodontal disease is the primary cause in older age groups. With age the permanent teeth are exposed to normal mechanical forces such as chewing and to abnormal forces from bruxism and traumatic injury, while plaque and bacteria affect the gums and the bone that holds the teeth in place. Bone resorption in the jaw is frequently how teeth detach in the first place, and unevenly worn or misaligned teeth are more likely to loosen or become damaged. Edentulism occurs more often in people from the lower end of the socioeconomic scale.
Who it affects
Edentulism affected approximately 158 million people globally as of 2010, about 2.3% of the population, and is more common in women (2.7%) than in men (1.9%). It occurs predominantly in older age, when most individuals begin to experience it, and more often in people of lower socioeconomic status. A cross-sectional analysis of European survey data found substantial variation in the mean number of retained natural teeth among people aged 50 and over, ranging from 14.3 in Estonia to 24.5 in Sweden.
Clinical overview sourced from encyclopaedic medical reference; see sources below. General information only — not a substitute for individual clinical assessment.
Treatment ladder
Conservative options are first-line where appropriate; surgical options are typically reserved for cases where lower-tier options are unsuitable or have failed. Decisions are individual and depend on clinical assessment.
Conservative
- Removable partial denture
An acrylic or chrome-cobalt framework appliance that replaces missing teeth and is removed for cleaning. Lowest cost option but least secure; affects taste and mastication, requires periodic relining as bone resorbs.
- Complete denture (edentulous)
Full upper and/or lower acrylic denture. Functional but commonly poorly tolerated, with bone resorption progressing under the denture base over years.
Procedural
- Fixed dental bridge
Adjacent teeth are prepared (significant enamel reduction) to anchor a fixed prosthesis spanning the gap. Avoids the discomfort of a removable appliance but irreversibly modifies healthy neighbouring teeth.
Surgical
- Dental implants · View procedure page
Titanium or zirconia screw-form implants placed directly into the jawbone, typically restored with crowns or implant-supported bridges/dentures after osseointegration. The most durable solution; requires adequate bone volume (often confirmed by CBCT) and may require bone grafting or sinus lift in deficient sites.
Related procedures
Sources
- [1]WHO Surgical Safety Checklist — who.int(accessed 2026-05-09)
- [2]Wikipedia — Toothlessness — en.wikipedia.org(accessed 2026-07-24)
Sources marked “on file” are held by The Treatment Registry but are not publicly accessible.