# Why do older people lose their teeth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393 "2010-12-16T18:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Arjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjay)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393/21 "2011-10-02T04:20:59Z")
Genetics is a big part of it but maintanance is very important.My father brushed daily,never flossed,never went to the dentist and died at 80 with all of his teeth intact except for a bridge.My mother who is also 80 takes far better care of her teeth,but has numerous crowns and several implants.I finally learned to go in every 6 months and to take care of the little things before they become big things.I inherited her teeth.I’m 55 and have several crowns,a bridge and two implants. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393/22 "2011-10-02T15:03:18Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > 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. I’m 32 and got a top plate this year under similar circumstances. My mother also had a full set of dentures by her early 30s. But I go out without my plate in at least a couple times a month (not on purpose). > [@Arjay](#): > > Genetics is a big part of it but maintanance is very important.My father brushed daily,never flossed,never went to the dentist and died at 80 with all of his teeth intact except for a bridge.My mother who is also 80 takes far better care of her teeth,but has numerous crowns and several implants.I finally learned to go in every 6 months and to take care of the little things before they become big things.I inherited her teeth.I’m 55 and have several crowns,a bridge and two implants. who did his bridge work? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393/23 "2011-10-02T23:00:57Z")
I’m not the biggest brusher, don’t really floss, almost never go to the dentist (recently went for the first time in 7 years), and my teeth are great. My parents are similarly blessed (now in their 50s) and my mom’s parents have all their own teeth (in their 80s and 90s now) so I focus on eating what my teeth need to stay healthy and assume I will always have them as well. It’s genetics and nutrition, IMO, and prenatal nutrition much more than genetics. Periodontal disease and bone and tooth loss are not a ‘natural’ part of aging any more than diabetes is (the two conditions are linked in fact; as is heart disease). I know people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s whose teeth are rotting right out of their heads (including my one sister) and what they all have in common is a history of ‘bad’ teeth and a diet and lifestyle that gives them nearly none of what they need for healthy bones and mouths. Most of them floss more in a month than I probably have in my entire life. ---
**Author:** ![luckymadon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@luckymadon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luckymadon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393/24 "2011-10-03T20:07:26Z")
I’ve heard it said that our senior years are a reversion back to infancy. A ‘second childhood’ so to speak. It would make sense that we lose our teeth in old age as we are not born with teeth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-older-people-lose-their-teeth/564393.md?page=1)