Eight Tremendous Teeth Facts

Teeth truly are fascinating. Whether you like it or not, they play an absolutely huge part of our daily lives and take up a significant amount of our time. They’ve had a lot to say in the human story, but you may still not fully understand the significance. Teeth are a lot more interesting than you probably first thought, and we’re about to uncover all. Just for you, we’ve come up with some of the most fascinating facts about those gnashers. Get your teeth into these:

Everyone has a unique set

Much like the fingerprints, teeth are entirely distinct to you. Every nook and cranny of your mouth hasn’t been replicated anywhere else in the world. Because of this, many investigators use teeth in the way they use fingerprints – in order to identify criminals. Archaeologists also make use of teeth to differentiate people and identify remains. Make sure you keep them in tip top shape for when you’re uncovered in a few thousand years!

Hard as nails

You’re doing many things to help your mouth when brushing your teeth, but one of the main parts of the process is protecting your enamel. This part of your teeth is essential for protecting yourself from cavities or tooth decay and needs some maintenance to keep healthy. Fortunately for you, the enamel is the hardest part of your entire body. Being made up of a variety of compounds, such as calcium and phosphate, the enamel is stronger than any other bone in your body. It needs to be too – dealing with all those sugary fizzy drinks!

Iceberg!

Sticking out of your gums like icebergs, the majority of each of your teeth aren’t visible from the surface and require a bit of deep diving with technology to see. Whenever you next have treatment with x-rays, take a peek at just how far down your teeth go into your gums. Only a third of each tooth makes an appearance above gum level. Ultimately, this is why your teeth are so well rooted. Without being pulled that far down, your teeth would be jittering all over the place.

Your adult set grow inside the womb

Everyone’s gone through the process of shedding baby teeth and developing a full on adult set. The seeds of your adult teeth actually start forming in the womb, years and years before they’ll even make an appearance in the mouth. Many babies are actually born with their baby teeth already out of their gums and ready to go. It’s always important to keep an eye on teething and adult teeth coming through to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Ancient dentistry

Most people would probably say that dentistry is a very modern science. Toothbrushes have only been around in the UK in regular use since the mid 19th century. However, recent discoveries have found that oral hygiene has always been a concern for ancient people. The ‘chew stick’ goes back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt when people used to remove any nasty bits of food from their teeth with various sticks. Even more fascinating is that, in Ancient Chinese Dynasties, it has been recorded that people invented a primitive form of the toothbrush. They used hog hairs and bamboo to create a useful way of brushing their teeth. We’ve got to say – we wouldn’t recommend it. The very first dentists also appeared in Ancient Egypt, helping the upper classes keep good care if their teeth with various potions and primitive instruments,

Animals

We’re not the only creatures with fascinating teeth. The Narwhal’s ‘horn’ is actually a tooth and is one of the longest in the world. Snails have the most teeth of any animal in the world – no wonder they can chew through lettuce so quickly. Shark teeth are one of the scariest gnashers going, but they actually lose about one a week on average (that’s why you can find so many on the beach!). Unlike us, the biggest animal in the world doesn’t have to worry about dental hygiene one bit. Blue whales don’t have any teeth at all, living it’s life cavity free. Here’s one final one for you – mosquitoes have twice as many teeth as humans!

The old days

A few hundred years ago, the methods people used to look after their teeth were pretty remarkable. In England, it was thought that boiling dog’s teeth in red wine was the answer to all your tooth troubles. Obviously, this was complete nonsense, but it really highlights just how much the world has advanced in terms of dental science since the Middle Ages. Again – don’t try it at home.

Time well spent

We’ve got our fingers crossed you are actually brushing and flossing twice a day for at least 2 minutes. If that’s the case then we can tell you that you’ll probably spend about 40 days of the period of your life brushing your teeth. That’s time well spent in our opinion. Even more crazy is that over your lifetime the average person will produce over ten thousand gallons of saliva!

So there you have it – your teeth are probably feeling a lot different now aren’t they? Your gnashers are one of the most important parts of your body and require a lot of attention to keep them on the right track. Often, constant brushing and flossing isn’t enough. It’s really important to make regular visits to the dentist so that your dentist can spot any irregularities before it’s too late. Way too many people make that mistake because they don’t have a good relationship with their dentist or their suffering from chronic dental anxiety.

If you live in the London area, we’d really recommend London City Smiles – they’re a fantastic dentistry dedicated to slow techniques and building strong relationships with their communities. Get in touch with them if you’re looking for some relief from your dental anxiety or you’re simply in need of some more consistent treatment. As always – keep these facts in mind when you’re next giving your teeth a good clean.