Tobi Ijalana
For many people, all they can say about their teeth is that they use it to bite stuff – at times including humans, as many would remember about a popular boxer and one other international footballer. But apart from the fact that teeth are far more important than that, there are some amazing things we don’t know about them. With the World Oral Health Day held on Monday still fresh in the memory, here are some of those facts:
1. The enamel on the top surface of your teeth is the hardest part of your entire body.
2. Teeth start to form even before one is born: Milk teeth or baby teeth start to form when the baby is in the womb, but they come through when the child is between 6 and 12 months old.
4. No two people have the same set of teeth: Your teeth are as unique as your fingerprint, so be proud of your unique set of teeth.
5. The first toothpaste to be ever made was by the Egyptians some 5000 years ago – which was just a mixture of pumice and wine.
6. Every day, toothbrushes get smothered with bacteria in our mouths and the best way to keep our toothbrushes free of germs is to keep them dry because bacteria thrive well in moist conditions.
7. Sugar is a major contributor to tooth decay. Reduce the consumption of it.
8. Mosquitoes have twice as many teeth as humans. The average adult human has 32 teeth.
9. Humans use four different types of teeth incisors, canine, premolars, and molars to cut, tear and grind their food.
10.Your mouth produces over 25,000 quarts of saliva in a lifetime, an amount enough to fill two swimming pools and saliva has many uses, including assisting you with your digestion while protecting your teeth from bacteria in your mouth.
11. One third of every human tooth is underneath your gums, which means only two thirds of your tooth is visible.
12. Norway has world’s largest tooth bank which stores milk teeth from babies. The bank has 17,000 teeth stored.
13. Right-handed people will usually chew their food in the right side of their mouths and left-handed people chew food in the left.
14. The most preferred and commonly used toothbrush colour is blue.
15. Brushing teeth right after eating is not suggested because the saliva in the mouth contains high concentrations of acid which actually leads to abrasions, meaning acids along with abrasions which lead to faster wearing of teeth enamel.
[Sources :123dentist.com, factslegend.org
PHOTO: bishopdental.co.nz
