Edentulous Meaning: Being Without Teeth and the Options Available

The word comes from Latin: e meaning without and dens meaning tooth. In dentistry it describes a jaw or a mouth that has no natural teeth in it, or no teeth in part of it. You will see it in dental notes, and sometimes on a report from a dentist after a check-up.

Being edentulous is not a disease in itself. It is a description of the result of tooth loss.

Completely edentulous means no natural teeth remain in the upper jaw, the lower jaw, or both. Partially edentulous means one or more teeth are missing but others remain. A dentist may also say "edentulous ridge" or "edentulous space", meaning the stretch of gum where teeth used to be.

Tooth loss is most often the result of long-standing decay or gum disease, and also injury, extraction or teeth that never formed. More detail on the loss of teeth and its effects is in our page on missing teeth.

Missing teeth can make chewing harder, change speech and appearance, and let neighbouring teeth drift into the gap. Over time the jaw bone where a tooth was can shrink because it is no longer being used. That is one reason dentists usually talk about replacing teeth early rather than leaving gaps for years.

What is suitable depends on how many teeth are missing, the health of the gums and bone, and a person's general health and wishes. A dentist will go through this after an examination and often an X-ray.

In general terms there are three routes. Removable dentures replace some or all teeth and rest on the gums. Our guide on types of dentures explains the kinds. A bridge replaces one or a few teeth by joining to neighbouring teeth. Implants are small posts placed in the jaw that can hold single teeth, bridges or dentures firmly in place.

Compare the main choices in our guides on dental implants vs dentures and dental implant vs bridge, and see how long dental implants last. For the removable option in plain words, read dentures meaning. The pillar page on dental implants gives the wider overview, and the denture cost page gives market price ranges.