Living Without Teeth

The last tooth has been pulled. Or the second to last. Or you've been wearing dentures for a long time now and wonder what that actually says about you — whether it means something is lost that can never come back. Whether you are less. Whether you are old. Whether something is wrong with you.

Medicine sees the loss of teeth as the result of cavities, periodontitis, accidents, or genetic predisposition. Those are the visible causes. But there is a deeper layer — one that has nothing to do with tooth enamel and bacteria, but with the question of what is ending in your life right now, what wants to make way, and why your body is sending you a signal through the loss of your teeth that reaches far beyond the oral cavity.

Being toothless is not an endpoint — it's a threshold.