What is it about aging that causes so many older folks to lose their teeth? Do teeth just wear out?
Same reason they lose their hair?
Gum recession. Not so much the teeth, but what they’re attached to.
Not unless they have a bacterial infection of the scalp.
The main reason is gum disease, namely peridontitis, which if left untreated causes bone loss in the jaw around the teeth and eventual loss.
Not all old people lose their teeth. I know a lot of old people in their 90s with their original choppers.
Some of us forget where we put them when we go to bed.
Losing teeth is the best argument I know against intelligent design.
My mom started losing teeth in her 70’s. Her dentist told her that part of the problem was a reaction to some medications. A couple of teeth turned black and fell out. (Ew.)
Uninformed opinion coming: I don’t know that older people lose their teeth more than any other age group. You’ll see a lot of older people with dentures because of the state of dentistry 50-60 years ago. It was easier, less painful, and cheaper to pull teeth than to do root canals, crowns, braces, etc. And there was no stigma. I remember friends of my parents showing off their new dentures. Brand new pearly whites!
Yup, I’m 83 and have them all except for four that were extracted years ago.
And, BTW, I still have all my hair, but it is thinner. Then again, who wants fat hair?
I thought it was knees - such a poorly designed thingy.
My father passed away in August at 88 and he still had all of his teeth.
He was, however, extremly lacking in kidneys, large intestines, hearing, and use of legs.
All of the teeth I have lost have been due to the quality of the bone where they were attached. If gum disease gets down to my bone the tooth is usually lost.
My grandfather made dentures for years. Before he retired about 10 years, he saw a slight drop-off in business. He said less people are losing their teeth.
My teeth and gums were in excellent condition, but my bone was receding. This runs in my father’s side of the family. I think I’m the only person who still had ANY teeth at 50.
I am 47 and have had a top plate for 3 years. My teeth looked fine and the gums looked fine, but all my teeth were rattling around like screws in a stripped hole - just nothing there to hang onto.
I was told I “might” be able to hang onto them for a few more years if I had major oral surgery right then, minor oral surgery every year thereafter and cleanings every 3 months. Even with that I could’ve only gotten another 5 years at most.
Between the pain of the surgeries, the pain-in-the-butt of having teeth that moved around on their own, and the massive expense, I decided to go for the dentures.
My mom had the same issues and worked her hardest to keep hers. She ended up with a top plate at 51.
BTW, I love my dentures. They look like my old teeth, but work a hell of alot better than mine ever did. But nobody - and I mean nobody - ever gets to see me without my teeth in.
Teeth, like other parts in the body wear out. They get chipped and broken. They fill with cavities and get infected. And, that’s not even looking at gum disease.
In our hunting/gathering days, teeth lasted about as long as an average person was expected to live. Thanks to modern science, we now live a lot longer than many of our body parts were meant to last. So, instead of getting eaten by a bear at 45 when we start to slow down, we now sputter along and fall apart one piece at a time until past our 80s.
Every one repeat after me: “Thank you modern science!”
Knees are another good argument against intelligent design, true. I picked teeth because I just had my remaining teeth pulled and am now dealing with dentures. My ‘denture venture’ isn’t going all that well at the moment and they head my list of stuff that bugs me.
In comparing my parents (60’s) to myself (40) the difference is knowledge of oral hygiene. My mom lost most of her teeth by her early 20’s, and suffered periodontal disease in her 40’s because of lack of good oral hygiene. She still says that if she had been taught to floss, and to floss correctly, along with brushing, she wouldn’t have had the problems she did.
When I was little, my mom gave me a nickel every day I brushed my teeth to get me to make it a habit. I marked each day on a little calendar she hung at my height in the bathroom. I guess it worked, I haven’t had any periodontal disease. BUT - I’m in the midst of getting three crowns right now because I’ve worn the enamel off my molars from clenching and grinding for four decades, and only being told about it with corrective measures when I was 33. Doc said getting 5 more years out of my molars would be good - well, we made it for 7!
Then there’s Dad, who had never flossed as far as I know, and who has to be reminded to brush, who has never had a problem with his teeth.
So, there’s genetic luck in there somewhere, too.
Coolest 83 year old ever. Using all the internet abbreviations and everything
My husband and I still have our own teeth, we are both in our 80’s. We do have them cleaned twice a year, and we do floss. It could also be genetic?