Losing adult teeth

That realization, whether it occurs abruptly—you unknowingly bite down on a nutshell and crack a molar—or gradually—your periodontal disease progresses to the point that a tooth or two loosens—will come as a rude awakening. But adult tooth loss is far more common than you may realize. At this very moment, million people in the United States are missing at least one tooth, and more than 36 million have no teeth at all, according to the American College of Prosthodontists. And those numbers are only projected to grow over the next couple of decades as our population gets older.

A loose tooth in a child often signals an exciting rite of passage. Once a person reaches adolescence, however, a loose tooth is no longer a normal occurrence. Adults may be alarmed when they notice loose teeth. Adult teeth are permanent and designed to last a lifetime. Some causes of loose teeth in adults are harmless.

There are two basic ways to have a tooth removed: You can go to the dentist for a careful extraction, or you can take a serious blow to the face. Unfortunately, many people end up going with option number two. They catch a stray elbow during a basketball game, fall face-first on the sidewalk, or -- in rare cases -- get in a fistfight. A knocked-out or, in dental speak, "avulsed" tooth is an emergency.

So you lost a tooth, what now? First off, if an adult tooth gets loose, you should see a dentist. Second, if you chose to ignore this and your adult tooth falls out, you should go to a dentist immediately. Third if for some reason your tooth cannot be replaced, or you refrain from going to the dentist entirely at the time of the event, you should still go to see a dentist.