I dunno if it's just me, but lately I've been noticing more and more people around my age (mid-30s here) dealing with tooth loss. Like, I always thought it was something that happened when you're older, you know, grandparents age or something. But now I'm hearing about friends losing teeth from stuff like gum disease, stress grinding, or even just neglecting dental visits for a couple years. Kinda scary tbh. Is this becoming more common or am I just noticing it more?
You're definitely not alone noticing this. I've been doing some digging myself because, honestly, it caught me off guard too. It seems like a combination of factors can lead to tooth loss way earlier than most people expect—stress grinding is a big one, especially lately with everything going on. When you're stressed, you often grind your teeth at night without even realizing it, wearing down enamel and weakening gums over time.
Another thing I've noticed from personal experience and talking to dentists is that skipping dental visits—even just for a couple years—can escalate minor issues into serious ones pretty quickly. Gum disease can quietly progress without obvious symptoms until suddenly you're facing tooth loss.
I asked my dentist about this exact issue last month (because yeah... anxiety kicked in after hearing about friends' experiences), and he mentioned it's becoming more noticeable partly because our generation has had inconsistent dental care over the years due to insurance issues or financial constraints.
Might be worth getting checked out if you're concerned—catching things early can make a huge difference.
I can definitely relate to this—had a similar scare myself a couple years back. Turns out I'd been grinding my teeth for ages without knowing. A simple night guard made a huge difference...might be worth asking about if you haven't already. Hang in there, you're not alone!
