Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having lost teeth: Describes a person or animal that is missing all or most of their natural teeth, typically due to age, disease, or extraction.

Usage

• The word edentulous is a formal, clinical, or technical term used primarily in medical, dental, and biological contexts.
• It is used to describe a state of being toothless. It is not typically used in casual, everyday conversation.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The elderly patient was edentulous and required a full set of dentures.
  • The study compared the jawbone density of edentulous individuals with those who had natural teeth.

Advanced Usage

• "Edentulous jaw" or "edentulous arch": Terms used in dentistry to describe a jawbone that no longer supports any teeth.
  • The dentist took an impression of the edentulous arch to fabricate a new denture.

Variants and Related Words

• Edentulism (n): The condition of being toothless.
  • The prevalence of edentulism has decreased with improved dental care.

Synonyms

• Toothless: The most common and direct synonym, suitable for both formal and informal contexts.
• Dentulous (adj): (Antonym) Having natural teeth.

Notes on Meaning

• Edentulous specifically refers to the absence of teeth. It does not describe the process of losing teeth or having cavities; it describes the resultant state.
• In zoology, it can describe species that naturally lack teeth.

Adjective

1. having lost teeth