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1. Even ancient populations understood the importance of oral hygiene.
While ancient oral hygiene methods and practices seem rudimentary compared to those we use today, people back then had definitely figured out that there is a connection between oral hygiene and strong, healthy teeth.
Ancient people would try any different methods of keeping teeth clean. Some would even go so far as to chew on tree bark or on wooden sticks with frayed ends to clean their teeth. In Ancient Egypt, they would brush their teeth using a powder made from ground-up eggshells and ox hooves mixed with water.
2. The modern toothbrush was not developed until the 1700s.
A man in England named William Addis attached boar bristles to a bone handle to create the first mass-manufactured toothbrush. In the 1930s, brushing using nylon bristles were first developed. These products seem a bit old fashioned when compared to our current toothbrushes, but they were cutting edge at the time!
3. Not even the Tooth Fairy is immune to inflation.
Today, the Tooth Fairy needs a lot more silver than she did in 1900, when she left an average of twelve cents per tooth. In 1998, she left an average of one dollar. In 2013, the going rate for a tooth reached an average of $3.50. In 2018, it was not uncommon for kids to find a $5 bill under their pillows! How much do you get?
4. North Americans use around 3 million miles of dental floss every year.
That being said, we aren't flossing nearly enough. in fact, only 1 in 3 North Americans report flossing once each day.
5. The average human produces 25,000 quarts of spit in a lifetime.
That's enough drool to fill two swimming pools! Gross.
6. Teeth can tell us a lot about the past.
Teeth are the hardest part of any mammal, which means they are the part most often fossilized. The size, number, shape, and organization of the teeth are different in every species of mammal, making them very useful in the classification of organisms (taxonomy). Without teeth, the fossil record would be quite a lot harder to for us to understand.
7. The United States has the most cavities per person out of all the countries in the world.
On the other hand, there are some countries like China where people eat so little sugar that entire cities are totally cavity free!
8. 'Long in the tooth' is a phrase meaning 'old'.
This expression originated with horses. As horses age, their gums recede, making it seem like their teeth are growing. The longer the teeth look, the older the horse.
9. Snails have teeth. Lots of them.
Snails and slugs have a jaw with thousands of flexible bands of teeth called "radula." The radula scrapes up or rasps food that the jaw has cut off of a larger piece such as a "bite" of a leaf that is then ground up to be eaten by the snail.
10. According to Louisiana law, if you bite someone with your natural teeth, it's assault, but if you bite them with dentures, it's aggravated assault.
This is because while simple assault is committed with your person, and aggravated assault is committed with a dangerous weapon (which dentures are, if you're using them for biting people).