30 Interesting Facts About Teeth
Fun Facts about Teeth
1. People who drink 3 or more glasses of soda each day have 62% more tooth decay, fillings and tooth loss than others.
2. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body.
3. If you don’t floss, you miss cleaning 40% of your tooth surfaces.
4. If you’re right handed, you will chew your food on your right side. If you’re left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.
5. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.
6. Teeth look yellow when the white enamel is worn down, causing it to become translucent. The weaker the enamel, the more the yellow of the dentine beneath shows.
7. Children’s teeth must be brushed as soon as the first tooth shows.
8. China has an annual “Love your Teeth day” on 20th September.
9. We spend 38.5 days of our lives brushing our teeth.
10. Cheese can protect your teeth. It creates a protective layer around your teeth, which neutralises the acid in plaque.
11. Curry sauce, balsamic dressing and ketchup can all stain your teeth.
12. Brushing within half an hour of eating or drinking certain foods (especially acidic food and drink) can actually damage your enamel, as the enamel is softer.
13. Plaque starts to form 4 hours after brushing.
14. Plaque contains over 300 species of bacteria.
15. The NHS estimates 1 in 3 adults have tooth decay.
16. Sugar is a major contributor to tooth decay.
17. People used to brush their teeth using twigs or their fingers before toothbrushes were invented.
18. The first toothbrush tools date back to 3500 BC to Egyptian times.
19. The Romans used to use sterile urine as mouthwash.
20. The Greeks and Romans used to make an abrasive paste out of broken eggshells, bones, ox hooves and ashes before toothpaste was invented.
21. In medieval times, most people thought tiny tooth worms made dental cavities.
22. The great philosopher Aristotle believed that men had more teeth than women.
23. People are getting their caps and crowns tattooed.
24. Teeth can grow in odd places. One man had a tooth that grew in his left nostril.
25. A 17-year-old boy had 232 teeth extracted from his mouth.
26. The most valuable tooth belonged to Sir Isaac Newton. His tooth is worth $35,700 today.
27. In 1866, Lucy Beaman Hobbs became the first licensed female dentist.
28. The earliest dentist known by name is Hesi-Re. He lived in Egypt over 5,000 years ago.
29. In 1905, Dental Assistant Irene Newman was trained to clean teeth. She became the first Dental Hygienist.
30. 1882 was the year commercial floss was first manufactured.
sources: Children’s Dental Village, Electric Teeth, Colgate, Dental Sky