As a Wesley Chapel dentist, I treat a lot of patients that have lost teeth. While I can often prevent tooth loss with preventative dental care, a large portion of the adult population will lose at least one tooth. Understandably, dentures are associated directly with tooth loss. Given that they are used to replace missing teeth, this is a perfectly logical association. It is also the reason only about 40% of the population ever thinks about dentures before they need them. This means that 60% of people will never consider tooth loss or what they would do in that eventuality. For many, the thought simply never occurs to them, for others, there is a sense of invulnerability that comes from improved dental health and hygiene habits. There are a number of studies that have been released showing that a level of optimism may be premature.

People are getting dentures in ever increasing numbers. In a recent study reviewed by the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, there were around 33.6 million people using completed dentures in the early 90's. Projecting to 2020, the journal found that there could be as many as 37.6 million people who have complete sets of dentures. Considering that this does not take into account partial dentures or any of the other prosthetic devices being used, we are expecting to see a slow but steady increase in the number of denture patients treated each year. If you are curious about your own risk, I invite you to schedule a dental exam or you may also want to research tooth loss and dentures as a replacement prosthetic.The need for dentures is not like catching a common cold. It does not come out of nowhere and requires immediate attention. Typically, your body will give you ample notification that there is something wrong with your teeth. If you are one of the 53% of Americans that visit the dentist the recommended 2 times per year, chances are that we will catch whatever is challenging your teeth, which can significantly increase the life of the teeth. If, however, you are part of the other 47%, you should keep a close watch on your teeth for things like pain, signs of infection, or loose teeth and call our Wesley Chapel dentist office if you notice anything out of the ordinary.The two major causes of tooth loss are age and infection, with accidents being the third. Age and genetics are something that cannot be controlled. Gum disease, however, can be. If you are unfortunate enough to have gum disease, you should know that you are fighting the infection and the clock. The longer an infection is allowed to be on your gums, the greater the chance is that you will lose a tooth or teeth. Visiting our Wesley Chapel dentist office within the window will allow you to save the tooth, and can also help to reduce any other potential problems stemming from the disease.A lot of people simply ignore when they have a problem with their gums or teeth. For example, almost 70% of Americans will experience some kind of bleeding from their gums during their lifetime. The vast majority will ignore it unless it gets more severe. Things like bleeding gums can be a sign of gingivitis, a disease that could cause you to lose teeth. This is why you should never take any health anomalies for granted and should visit our Wesley Chapel dentist office immediately on their occurrence.In our office, we will help to prevent you from losing teeth. If, however, you do experience tooth loss, we can provide you with a comfortable fitting pair of dentures, a dental bridge, or dental implants to replace the tooth or teeth that you have lost.[recent-blogs count=4 layout="horizontal" category="dentures-and-partial-dentures-cat,damage-my-dentures-cat,implant-supported-dentures-cat,options-for-replacing-missing-teeth-cat,multiple-teeth-replacement-options-cat"]