Facts & Figures

Prosthodontics

Prosthodontics is one of the ten dental specialties recognized by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards.
The American Dental Association recognizes the ACP as the organization for the specialty of prosthodontics.
There are over 3,500 practicing prosthodontists and prosthodontic residents in the U.S., according to the American Dental Association, Health Policy Resources Center, Supply of Dentists, 2017.
Prosthodontists train an additional three years in an American Dental Association-accredited graduate program after completing dental school.

Dentures

About 15 percent of the edentulous population has dentures made each year.

Tooth Loss

More than 36 million Americans do not have any teeth, and 120 million people in the U.S. are missing at least one tooth. These numbers are expected to grow in the next two decades.
Tooth loss happens from decay and gums disease, and as a result of injury, cancer, or simply wear.
Edentulism affects our most vulnerable populations – the aging and the economically disadvantaged.
In the geriatric population the ratio of edentulous individuals is 2 to 1. About 23 million are completely edentulous and about 12 million are edentulous in one arch.
90 percent of those who suffer from edentulism have dentures.
The number of partially edentulous patients will continue to increase in the next 15 years to more than 200 million individuals. Partial edentulism affects the majority of adult Americans.
Consequences of missing teeth include significant nutritional changes, obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and some forms of cancer.

Oral Cancer

Oral cancer kills one American every hour of every day, according to the National Cancer Institute. The death is higher than many better known cancers such as melanoma.
Only 50 percent of those diagnosed with oral cancer will survive more than five years.
Early detection of oral cancer offers the best chance of survival, yet only one-third of oral cavity cancer is found in the earliest stages when treatment is most effective.
Men and women are both at risk. In the 1950s, men older than 40 were six times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than women. By 1997, this male-to-female ratio was 2 to 1.
One-third of oral cancer now occurs in patients younger than 55.
One in seven people newly diagnosed with oral cancer were younger than 40, according to recent Johns Hopkins studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine. 25 percent of this group had no traditional risk factors.
Strong association exists between oral cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV), the same virus associated with cervical cancer in women. Because HPV is sexually transmitted, there is a link between oral sex and the potential development of oral cancer.
People who use tobacco are six times more likely to develop oral cancer. Eight of 10 oral cancer patients are smokers.
80 percent of people diagnosed with oral cancer consume more than 21 drinks weekly.
About two-thirds of cancer of the mouth or oral cavity occurs in the floor of mouth and tongue, but can occur in the upper or lower jaw, lips, gums, and cheek lining. Just behind the mouth is an area known as the orophyarnx. Oropharyngeal cancer (one-third of cases) occurs in the back of the tongue, tonsils, and throat tissue.