At Signature Smiles in Woodinville, WA, we are committed to helping our patients maintain beautiful and healthy smiles. Unfortunately, dental problems or injury can lead to tooth loss. In these cases, we offer effective treatment options such as the use of dental implants.

Here, we take a look at tooth loss statistics, including the age groups and other demographics that are most affected by this condition.

Causes of Tooth Loss

Tooth loss can happen for a number of reasons, but the leading cause is dental decay. When plaque and tartar build up, oral bacteria increase. Dental bacteria emit acids that damage the structure of the natural tooth. Eventually, this causes cavities or more advanced forms of decay.

Once decay progresses, more aggressive restorative procedures such as root canal therapy and the placement of a dental crown are required to save the tooth. If treatment is not performed in a timely manner, the tooth must be extracted.

Other causes of tooth loss include periodontal disease, bone disease, or trauma from an injury or accident.

Tooth Loss Across Age Groups

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reports that:

• Adults ages 20 to 34 have 26.9 out of 32 teeth remaining (this number includes wisdom teeth, which are routinely extracted)
• Adults 35 to 49 years have a reported 25.05 teeth remaining
• Adults 50 to 64 have 22.3 teeth remaining

Adults 50 to 64 also have the highest percentage of people with no remaining teeth at 10.13 percent.

Tooth Loss Across Other Demographics

When considering gender in relationship to tooth loss, men have a slightly higher average than women. Men across all age groups retain 25.06 teeth, while women retain 24.9.

Mexican-Americans have the lowest tooth loss rates, retaining 25.32 teeth. White, non-Hispanic adults have 25.23, and black non-Hispanic adults have 23.68.

Education also plays a role. Adults who have completed more than a high school education, on average, retain 25.76 teeth. Adults with less than a high school education retain 23.10 teeth.

Solutions and Treatment Options

As dental treatments and public health education develops, tooth loss has decreased through the years. However, when patients do experience tooth loss due to decay or trauma, our practice offers tooth replacement options such as dental implants.

Dental implants are made of titanium. These screw-like implants are placed in the jaw, effectively replacing the missing tooth root.

Dental implants offer a number of benefits to patients. They:

• Prevent bone loss in the jaw
• Maintain the alignment of the surrounding teeth
• Look natural
• Have a high success rate

Preventing tooth loss is always ideal. But if you have experienced tooth loss, you do have treatment options.

Tooth Loss Treatment and Prevention

Whether you have missing teeth or want to prevent tooth loss with diligent oral care, our practice can help. We offer treatment options that can restore missing teeth, and preventive care to help protect remaining teeth from loss or extraction.

Please contact our practice online or call us at (425) 489-1177 to learn more and schedule a consultation with us.