It’s pretty common for elderly people or children to have missing teeth, but there are plenty of people out there without a full set of pearly whites. In some cases this is due to tooth decay and people’s teeth rotting out, but most of the time for people under the age of 35, the three main causes of tooth loss are accidents, athletic trauma, and fights.

Accidents happen all the time. Maybe you fell down the stairs and landed face first at the bottom. Maybe you just brought a beer bottle a little too forcefully to your mouth after having a few too many, or maybe you just have bad luck and something fell from above and hit you right in the mouth.

One of the most notorious reasons for tooth loss among the younger crowd is the wonderful winter time sport hockey. The cliche is that goalies get hit in the teeth with a puck and it knocks them out, but there are also a few swinging sticks and fists in the game. Getting hit in the mouth playing a sport can be pretty easy to do, especially if its full contact.

The last most common reason for younger people to be missing teeth is fights. If you’ve ever fought a sibling or almost gotten mugged in a dark alley at night, you know how powerful a punch can be and though tooth enamel is the toughest substance in the human body teeth can still get knocked out by a hard left.

The solution to all of these is getting dental implants. These look and feel like natural teeth, more so than any other current tooth replacement option. If you’re missing teeth, you might want to consult with a cosmetic dentist and what types of dental implants might be right for you. References.