Tooth Loss: Filling in the Gaps

Losing one's possessions can be both a good and a bad experience in today's world. For instance, losing weight is typically a happy occasion, but losing one's car keys is never an enjoyable experience. The same principle is true when discussing oral health. As a child, losing baby teeth is something to be celebrated (A magical fairy often comes late at night and trades an old tooth that will never be used again for legal tenders. That is cause for celebration in any circumstance). However, at an old age, losing teeth is an embarrassing and life-style changing affair (Corn on the cob is traded for apple sauce and other mushy foods). Luckily, for current dental patients replacing lost teeth is easier than ever before. Breakthroughs in technology provide a wide array of tooth restoration from implanting titanium, synthetic teeth directly into the jaw bone to a standard dental bridge that was invented during the height of the Roman Empire. Obviously, certain procedures can cost a patient more in addition to being more extensive. I was curious to see what kind of people in the United States lose their teeth, and what type of dental implant makes the most sense. Lucky for me, Google is a great search engine.
As I am a virgin to the blogosphere realm, I went exploring to see if there was a blog on the World Wide Web that addressed my curiosities concerning tooth loss. Expecting to find a single blog that was many years out of date, I was shocked when there were a plethora of posts and articles discussing all aspects of tooth loss (albeit the majority were out of date and plugging cosmetic dentistry, but a plethora nonetheless). The first blog that I discovered, World Dental, consists mostly of posts by writer, alias Alex Bo, who frequently updates the sire with dental news of all types. The pose i investigated, entitled "Replacing Missing Tooth with Dental Bridge" address the use of dental bridges as well as different types available to the public. The other blog I found, Fullosseous Flap's Dental Blog, shares the opinions of D.D.S. Gregory Cole, on any subject from dentistry to current politics. The post i was most intrigued by was entitled "Tooth Loss Statistics by State" and showed which state's citizens most commonly lost teeth, and also begged the question, why. I commented on both of these posts, sharing my stance on the topic and asking thought-provoking questions of the authors' The paragraphs following these are my actual comments.

Comment:

First, I would like to say that this post was both informative and thorough. While I have obtained a wealth of knowledge about dental bridges, from reading your work I have learned even more. Replacing missing teeth is key to maintaining one’s dental health. Your discussion of the benefits of dental bridges, made me realize that besides fixing your bite, they also help to sustain the shape of your face, and prevent drifting and loss of other teeth in your mouth. As all of these benefits are physical, I wonder what effect they have on people mentally. It is an easy assumption that those with replacement teeth have more confidence, and therefore are better able to contribute to society by means of a job etc. I think that conducting an experiment where people of the same age group are separated based on whether they are missing teeth or not, and then they are observed and compared, would result in more evidence supporting the use of dental bridges and the other restorative methods you acknowledged in your article e.g. implants and dentures. In addition, I think the experiment would expose a topic that you covered briefly in the post, the socioeconomic class of people who have dental bridges. Being less expensive than an implant, but more expensive than dentures, bridges seem to be the middle ground treatment for tooth loss. The experiment would probably show that people in lower income classes are ones that lose the most teeth because it is assumed they have the lowest overall health. Sadly, without aide, these people cannot afford bridges or any other form of tooth replacement. A question spurred from this fact, is whether or not there is the technology to mass produce a cheap, yet effective dental bridge for those who need the treatment, but are held back from it because of their income. Ultimately my question to you is if affordable tooth replacement treatments are going to be available in the United States (as many other countries are practicing “dental tourism” as you mentioned in your article) in the near future?

Comment:

While I enjoyed reading your post concerning tooth loss, I found that it was a bit disturbing. As a hopeful future dentist, seeing figures like nearly half of adults over 65 in West Virginia have lost all their natural teeth makes me wonder if there will even be any teeth left for me to clean. Your post made me consider the reasons for such high percentages of people who have lost all their teeth. While I agree with you that it could be because of dental IQ and dental treatment plans gone awry, I think that the problem is much deeper. As amazing as new dental treatments are, perhaps the public thinks it is very easy to replace teeth, so maintaining the health of their own teeth is not as high a priority to them. If a person is knowledgeable enough about implants (and rich enough to afford them), they may find it easier to just lose their teeth and get them replaced with long-lasting synthetic ones. As far-fetched as it sounds, I really do consider the possibility that one of the causes of tooth loss can be attributed to the dental world’s constant efforts to make tooth care easier for patients. While meant to help people improve their dental health, new advancements with old treatments like bridges and dentures can have an adverse effect and give people a more nonchalant attitude about losing teeth. The problem that needs to be solved is how to communicate with the public the importance of keeping their own teeth as opposed to not caring and getting them replaced. While people who are a part of the dental world understand, it is difficult for them to explain to patients, the majority of which can barley even manage to brush and floss twice a day. Ultimately, my question is whether dentists will be able to reverse the percentages of tooth loss in the United States, through a new means of communication with patients, or do they simply need to invest more time in tooth replacement research and technology so that they can help maintain their patients’ oral health? While I wish it to be the former, it seems the more lucrative decision is the latter.