The ability for a tooth to grow back after falling out depends on whether it is a baby tooth or a permanent adult tooth. The human body’s capacity to replace teeth changes significantly from childhood to adulthood. Understanding these differences clarifies expectations regarding tooth regrowth.
Baby Teeth Natural Replacement
Baby teeth, also known as primary teeth, are naturally replaced. This process typically begins around age six and continues until approximately age thirteen. As permanent teeth develop beneath the gums, they exert pressure that dissolves the roots of the baby teeth, causing them to loosen and eventually fall out. The lower front teeth are typically the first to fall out, followed by the upper front teeth.
After a baby tooth falls out, the permanent adult tooth can take up to six months to fully appear. While the timing can vary, the general sequence of eruption for permanent teeth follows the shedding of their baby tooth predecessors. By age thirteen, most children will have a full set of permanent teeth, excluding wisdom teeth. This natural replacement makes space for larger, stronger adult teeth.
Adult Teeth Do Not Regrow
Unlike baby teeth, permanent adult teeth do not naturally regrow once lost. Humans are “diphyodonts,” meaning they develop only two sets of teeth in their lifetime: primary and permanent. Once a permanent tooth is gone, the body does not possess the biological mechanisms to produce a third set.
Tooth enamel, the hardest part of the tooth, cannot regenerate because it lacks the necessary cells for this process. While some parts of the tooth, like dentin and pulp, can undergo limited repair, the specialized cells responsible for forming a complete tooth are not reactivated in adulthood to create an entirely new one. This means an adult tooth lost due to decay, trauma, or other reasons, is gone permanently.
Options for Lost Adult Teeth
Since adult teeth do not regrow, various dental solutions are available to replace missing permanent teeth and restore oral function and appearance. Common options include dental implants, bridges, and dentures.
Dental implants involve surgically placing a small, threaded post, usually made of titanium or zirconia, into the jawbone to serve as an artificial tooth root. Once the implant fuses with the bone, a process called osseointegration which can take two to six months, an abutment is attached, and a custom-made crown is placed on top, creating a replacement. Dental implants are a durable, long-term solution that can help prevent jawbone loss.
Dental bridges are prosthetic devices that “bridge” the gap created by one or more missing teeth. A bridge consists of artificial teeth, called pontics, anchored by crowns placed on the natural teeth on either side of the gap. Unlike dentures, dental bridges are fixed in place and are not removable. They can be made from materials like porcelain and metal.
Dentures are removable oral appliances designed to replace missing teeth in the upper or lower jaw, or both. They are custom-made from materials such as acrylic, resin, nylon, or porcelain. Full dentures replace an entire arch of teeth, while partial dentures are used when some natural teeth remain. Dentures offer a cost-effective way to restore chewing function and improve appearance.