Oral hygiene and maintaining your dental health is incredibly important. However, we know it isn’t always the fun or exciting choice of things you need to do during the day. Below are a few bits of interesting dental trivia to help you spice up your daily oral hygiene routine.
Interesting Dental Trivia
- Different animals all have such different diets, and their teeth reflect their unique needs. Humans have 32 teeth, while dogs have 42. Cats only have 30 teeth and pigs have 44. And because of their diet, great white sharks have 50 teeth!
- One in around 2,000 babies born each year will be born with one or two small teeth.
- You may know that Egyptians invented toothpaste, but you may not know that they were also the first to perform root canals on teeth. Clearly the Egyptians were quite ahead of their time.
- A reptile can regrow its teeth as often as it needs to. If a reptile has particularly bad luck with teeth, it may have to 3,000 teeth over its lifespan.
- The average human will produce around 100,000 gallons of saliva over their lifespan. That’s enough spit to fill 200 bathtubs!
- The first version of chewing gum was called ‘chicle.’ This primitive chewing gum was created by the Aztecs from the sap of Sapodilla trees. First the sap would be boiled and then it would cut into strips.
- It’s a myth that George Washington had wooden dentures. His dentures were made of ivory, lead, and a few hippopotamus teeth. We think that’s even a little bit weirder than having wooden dentures.
- The amount of dental floss purchased in the U.S. each year could stretch approximately 3 million miles.
- Your teeth are the hardest part of your body, stronger than even the densest bone in your body.
- Lastly, around $2 billion each year is spent on dental hygiene products, including mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss.
The best way to care for the health of your mouth is to make sure you’re following a proper oral hygiene routine. This means brushing at least twice a day, for two minutes at a time, and with fluoride toothpaste. You also need to be flossing every day and visiting the dentist every 6 months for a dental cleaning and checkup.
To make an appointment here at Denver Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, please contact our Denver, CO office today.
