Dental procedures, oral hygiene habits, and routine dentistry have come a long way throughout the years. From animal-hair bristle toothbrushes to electric water picks, and chalk to fluoride toothpaste, you can see that there’s a lot of information you might not know about your teeth!
Here are 10 unusual facts about your teeth that might surprise you.
Say Cheese!
According to Delta Dental, women smile on average 62 times a day. This is in comparison to men who smile only eight times a day.
You’ll spend days brushing your teeth.
During a person’s lifetime, it’s likely they’ll spend lots of time taking care of their teeth. On average, an American spends nearly 40 days brushing their teeth over the course of their life.
The average person produces 1-2 liters of saliva every day.
While you might produce 1-2 liters of saliva daily, that number adds up over your lifetime. So, how much saliva does the average person produce over their lifetime? Up to 25,000 quarts!
Set the timer.
The recommended length of time to brush your teeth is 2-3 minutes each time. However, many people don’t brush their teeth for that long. Instead, the average person brushes for just 45-70 seconds!
Your dominant hand matters to your mouth.
Almost everybody has a dominant hand and a dominant side. That translates to your mouth too! If you’re a righty, it’s likely you chew more of your food on the right side of your mouth. The same idea goes for lefties; if you’re dominant in your left hand, you’ll likely chew more of your food on the left side.
If bones are strong…
… teeth are stronger!
Most people believe their bones are the strongest substance in their body. Although tooth decay and poor oral health leads to softer enamel and weaker teeth, your teeth are actually the strongest substance in your body.
No two are the same.
Just like your fingerprints, your teeth are 100% unique to you. No two people have the same sets of teeth.
Watch your mouth.
Currently, there are nearly 7.6 billion people living on Earth. That number is concerning, especially when you consider that there are more types of bacteria in your mouth than there are humans on the planet.
Animal hair as toothbrush bristles.
In the early stages of oral hygiene, people used all sorts of things to clean their teeth. The first toothbrush that actually had bristles was created in China in 1498, with bristles made from animal hair from animals like horses and badgers.
Cleaning your teeth is not a new routine.
Toothpaste has actually been used since 500 B.C. in eastern countries like China and India. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that there was a cleaning agent added to toothpaste and it wasn’t until the 20th century that the toothbrush as we know it today was developed. The routine of brushing your teeth regularly took off in the United States post World War II.
These unusual and surprising facts will certainly give you something to smile about.
However, your oral health is a serious matter you should discuss with your dentist on a regular basis. With biannual visits to your dentist’s office and effective and daily oral hygiene habits, you can have a healthy smile for the rest of your life.
