Top 20 strange things about teeth

20 August 2017

20 August 2017

In a previous article, titled 10 amazing facts about our teeth, I've made a top of the most interesting things about human teeth. Below I've gathered 20 strange, but also fun facts about teeth in general, which we think you'll enjoy reading.

You will be delighted to know that you have access to a toothbrush. Before the invention of toothbrushes, people used different objects to clean their teeth. They used salt and chalk powder to remove dirt from their teeth, and they used various substances that you wouldn't want them to use now, which would be detrimental to you now. Thus, they used to make a powder from eggshells and ox hooves or from bones and oysters, with which they cleaned their teeth.
We only have two sets of teeth in our entire lives. Baby teeth and permanent teeth. Once all your baby teeth have been replaced, you'd better take care of your permanent teeth because you don't get any more.
You have teeth when you are born. These are not visible at birth, but start to emerge from around the sixth month of life. Therefore, teeth appeared before you did!
Each person's mouth produces approximately 380,000 litres of saliva in their lifetime. If you think about a swimming pool party…
Dental plaque is made up of over 300 different types of bacteria.
The average American spends 38.5 days of their life brushing their teeth.
Even teeth have value and are sold at auction. The most valuable tooth belonged to Sir Isaac Newton. In 1816, one of his teeth was sold in London for $3,633, or - the equivalent today - $35,700. The tooth was set in a gold ring! (Source: Guinness World Records 2002).
If you are left-handed, you will chew on the left side. If you are right-handed, you will chew using your right side.
Tooth enamel is the hardest part of the human body. However, we do not recommend using your teeth to open bottle caps!
Each tooth is different from the other. Like fingerprints, everyone's dental imprint is different and unique.
Hesi-Re, the oldest dentist, lived 5000 years ago in Egypt.
Women smile 62 times a day, while men only smile 8 times. Children laugh 400 times a day, adults only 15 times a day.
Two-thirds of the length of your teeth is visible. One-third is hidden by your gums.
Giraffes do not have upper teeth; they only have lower teeth.
Dogs have 42 teeth, cats have 30 teeth, pigs have 44 teeth, and an armadillo (a sort of miniature dinosaur) has 104 teeth.
The snail's jaw is no bigger than the head of a pin, but it can have over 25,000 teeth.
Elephants lose their molars and grow new ones. This happens six times in their lifetime. A single molar can be 10-12 cm long and weigh over 3.6 kg.
The largest mammal on Earth, the Blue Whale, has no teeth!
Even the crocodile has its own toothbrush – the crocodile bird. This bird enters the crocodile's mouth and cleans its teeth. Well, not twice a day, as recommended...
When faced with the loss of her teeth, Angie Barlow from Britain used superglue to reattach her old teeth. It is said that she was so afraid of the dentist that she preferred to do this at home, fixing her lost teeth with superglue. Essentially, she created a sort of denture. However, this is not a recommended method for making a denture. In the end, Angie Barlow had to go to the dentist, as the superglue solution didn’t hold and she lost about 90% of the bone supporting her upper teeth.