1. Even ancient populations understood the importance of oral hygiene.
While oral hygiene practices we use today have evolved much beyond the ancient methods used historically, people back then had definitely known about the connection between oral hygiene and strong, healthy teeth.
Ancient people had many different methods of keeping their teeth clean. Some would go so far as to chew wooden sticks or tree bark with frayed ends to clean their teeth. Ancient Egyptians used a powder made from pulverized eggshells and ox hooves mixed with water to brush their teeth.
2. The modern toothbrush was not developed until the 1700s.
William Addis, a man in England, created the first mass-produced toothbrush by attaching boar bristles to a bone handle. In the 1930s, brushes with nylon bristles and ergonomic handles were developed. While these products seem primitive compared to our modern toothbrushes, they were highly innovative at the time.
3. Not even the Tooth Fairy is immune to inflation.
Inflation has factored into the Tooth Fairy needing a lot more silver than she did in 1900, when she left an average of twelve cents per tooth. In 1998, she left one dollar on average and by 2013, the going rate for a tooth had 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 receive?
4. North Americans use around 3 million miles of dental floss every year.
But we're still not flossing enough! Only 30% of North Americans report flossing once a 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, in some countries (like China), people eat such small amounts of sugar that entire cities are completely 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 eat with a jaw and a flexible band of thousands of microscopic teeth called a radula. The radula scrapes up, or rasps, food particles and the jaw cuts off larger pieces of food, like a leaf, to be rasped by the radula.
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).