Edentulism is the condition of being toothless to at least some degree; in organisms (such as humans) that naturally have dentition, it is the result of tooth loss. Loss of some teeth results in partial edentulism, whereas loss of all teeth results in complete edentulism. Persons who have lost teeth are (either partially or completely) edentulous (edentate), whereas those who have not lost teeth can be called dentate by comparison. For example, a scientific study may include a partially edentulous group and a healthy dentate control group.

Organisms that never possessed teeth can also be described as edentulous, such as members of the former zoological classification order of Edentata, which included anteaters and sloths, all of which possess no anterior teeth and either no or poorly developed posterior teeth.

In naturally dentate species, edentulism is more than just the simple presence or absence of teeth; it is biochemically complex, because the teeth, jaws, and oral mucosa are not static objects; they are dynamic (changing over time). Processes such as bone remodeling (loss and gain of bone tissue) in the jaws and inflammation of soft tissue in response to the oral microbiota are clinically important for edentulous people.

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