Back in 500 B.C. the ancient Greek use a mixture of iron rust and coral powder as toothpaste and tree twigs as toothbrush to clean their teeth. Fortunately with recent advances in dentistry today we have many gadgets to help maintain proper oral health and all kinds of services to keep the teeth and smile healthy and beautiful. Below are some appealing facts about the human teeth.
Human Are Born With 20 Primary Teeth
Human teeth are form during the fetal stage and are born with 20 primary teeth (baby teeth) which do not show up until the baby reach 6 months. The teeth are embedded in the gums, with each tooth waiting to erupt and fall off in their own predetermined time and will be replace by permanent teeth. It is also important to maintain and care about the child’s oral health so that primary teeth stay in place as long as possible and ensure that the permanent teeth stay in proper position, erupt and grows.
The First Tooth Erupts Between 6-12 Months
The first tooth of the oral cavity erupts between 6-12months. Signs and symptoms of teething includes a low-grade fever, excessive drooling, restless or decrease sleep, loss of appetite, more sucking and pulling of ear. So, keep an eye on the above signs and symptoms of teething.
Adults Have 32 Permanent Teeth
Every adult have 32 permanent teeth (adult teeth) and the last tooth to erupt in the oral cavity is the wisdom teeth. But the oral cavity for many people are not sufficient enough to accommodate them and hence remain impacted. They are also not mandatory for proper chewing so, are advise to remove surgically or else they can cause pain as they pushes the adjacent tooth to accommodate them thereby causing out of alignment. Humans have 4 different types of teeth (incisors, canine, premolars and molars) to chew and grind the food.
Enamel Is The Hardest Part In The Body
Tooth enamel is the hardest part of the human body and is the outermost layer of the teeth. It protects the tooth and is mainly consist of calcium and phosphate like bones but the enamel can chip or fracture while biting or chewing hard objects and is not even safe from tooth decay. Food and beverages containing sugars and acids can attack the enamel by combining with oral microbes and decay the tooth.
Teeth Are Not Bones
The teeth and bones are very much different from one another even though the main composition is calcium and both contain blood vessels and nerves. The bone has bone marrow while the tooth does not and for this reason, teeth are not considered a bone.
Teeth Have Great Bite Force
Believe it or not, an adult human has a bite force upto 200lbs and it is on par with that of a pit-bull of around 235lbs. This might be one of the reasons why people bite or chew hard objects but one must understand the purpose of using teeth and not on those which they are not intended to since the teeth are prone to crack or fractures.
Teeth Have No Self-Repair Property
Look like teeth can heal themselves from injuries or regrow as they are living tissue but unfortunately the teeth cannot heal or grow by themselves. So, once the tooth decay begins it will slowly and gradually advances and finally tooth loss if not treated. But, the only way to repair tooth decay is filling or a root canal treatment (if advanced) and if lost the options are replacement of missing teeth with either denture, bridge or dental implants. Besides, people who drink more than 3 glasses of soda daily are 62% more prone to dental caries, fillings and tooth loss compare to others.
Maintain Healthy Teeth
With more than 300 different types of bacteria present in the oral cavity it is recommended to maintain a healthy teeth by proper oral care and visiting a dentist every 6 months for dental checkup as it is crucial to detect any dental problems early and prevent them before they occur. Hence, the healthier the teeth, the longer they will stay disease free (tooth decay). Besides, diseases like diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis are linked to oral health. So, visit dentist regularly and timely because waiting will only make the smaller problems bigger.
Each Tooth Is Unique
No two people have same set of teeth, like fingerprints teeth are also unique to every human. Hence, every tooth has their own unique tooth print and is the reason why dental records are sometime use to identify human remains. Similarly, the tongue also has a unique tongue print. Surprisingly, even identical twins do not have identical teeth. The most priced tooth belong to Sir Isaac Newton and one of his tooth was sold for $3,633 (2.5 lakhs) in 1816 at London and is worth $35,700 – 25.5lakhs today.
Teeth Are Like Icebergs
About two third of the tooth lies beneath the gums and only one thirds of the tooth is visible and this is one of the reason why healthy gums are also important in making the teeth healthy. Healthy gums appear pink in color and firm in consistency.
Dentin Grows, Enamel Does Not
Dentin is the next layer of the tooth that lies beneath the enamel. They have tiny channels that convey nerve signals and nutrition to the tooth. While the enamel wear off with time the dentin continues to grow and remodel throughout life. There are three types of dentin: primary, secondary and reparative dentin.
Dental Plaque Is The Enemy
The sticky and white layer on the tooth surface that continuous to accumulate with time is dental plaque. They are remove by brushing and flossing but can cause tooth decay if not properly remove. Just brushing the teeth is not enough as it maintain only 60% of oral hygiene and remaining 40% is maintain by flossing. So, brush and floss at least twice daily and on average a person spends 38 days brushing teeth throughout their life.
Our Body Make 10,000 Gallons Of Spit
Our body produces around 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime that is sufficient enough to fill two swimming pools. Saliva helps in digestion of foods and protects the teeth from bacteria in the oral cavity by washing away food debris and neutralizing the acid that may cause tooth decay. Hence, saliva plays an important role in overall health.
Conclusion
Teeth are one of the important components of the human body because they help in mastication or chewing any kind of food we desire. Teeth are also important for speech and help us to pronounce words clearly and correctly. Besides, most importantly they help in giving a beautiful appearance and a radiant smile.
