25 Fascinating Facts About Animal Teeth

As dentists in Southern Ocean County, we see teeth of all shapes and sizes and configurations. The stuff we deal with, however, is pretty tame compared to the wild world of animal teeth. Consider these amazing facts:

1. Elephants – Elephants get a new set of teeth every 10 years so, with up to six to ten sets coming in over the course of their lifetime. Losing their teeth can be an Earth-shaking experience, too, because elephant molars can weigh up to ten pounds each! No wonder elephants don’t chew their food, they grind it. If you count their tusks, elephants also have the longest teeth in the world. They can weigh up to 400 pounds!

2. Snails – Snails are small and gross, but from a teeth perspective they are pretty amazing. They can have upwards of 25,000 teeth – and they’re located on their tongue!

3. Dogs – Your dog may chew on anything and everything put in front of her, but chances are she’ll get less cavities than you do. Dogs are much less prone to cavities than humans are because their saliva has an extremely high pH level.

4. Sharks – Sharks lose their teeth on a regular basis, often on a weekly basis, but they are replaced quickly by row after row of fearsome teeth that are constantly growing in behind the main set.

5. Crocodiles – Just like sharks, crocs lose their teeth often, but when any of their 60 teeth come out, another quickly grows in its place. Over the course of their lifetime a crocodile may end up having thousands of teeth. Another fun fact: crocs keep a clean mouth thanks to the help of small birds called Crocodile Birds that fly in and clean their teeth for then. We’re glad the birds do it, because no sane New Jersey dentist would stick their head in a crocodile’s mouth!

6. Dolphins – Dolphins may not resemble trees, but they do in one weird way: you can tell a dolphin’s age by counting the rings on its teeth.

7. Armadillos – These funny looking little creatures have 104 teeth – quite a lot for little guys. Not so funny is that armadillos are known to carry leprosy, the only animal other than humans known to be able to carry it.

8. Hippos – It may look like they only have four teeth when they open their mouth, but in fact hippos have about 40 teeth. You don’t see them because most of them are located well to the back of their mouth. (It’s also worth noting that they may look cute and docile, but hippos are actually highly dangerous, killing more people in Africa each year than any other animal.)

9. Rats – If you’ve ever had a pet rat, you know they like to gnaw on things. It’s not just a habit for them, either. They need to gnaw. Rat teeth never stop growing, so gnawing helps keep their teeth at a reasonable size. The same holds true for hamsters, gophers, beavers and mice.

10. Blue Whales – They are the largest creatures ever to have lived, having reached upwards of 110 feet long and the largest recorded weighing an astounding 190 tons. But they don’t have any teeth.

11. Giraffes – They’re much taller than you are, but their mouths are similar to yours in one way: giraffes have 32 teeth, just like you do. Still, we don’t think any Ocean County dentists are tall enough to treat a giraffe!

Can you think of any others? If so, feel free to comment on our Facebook. Maybe we can use them in a future column!

Dentists see teeth every day. They work with them every day. They know them inside and out.   Despite all this up close and personal experience, teeth never cease to amaze the people in your Ocean County dental office. We bet you’ll be amazed as well when you read some of these amazing facts about your pearly white teeth:

1. Babies only have about 20 teeth. Once you grow into an adult, you get your full set of 32 teeth.
2. Surveys suggest that 50% of folks say that a person’s smile is the first thing they notice.
3. The hardest part of your body is in your mouth – your tooth enamel!
4. The amount of saliva you produce over the course of your lifetime is enough to fill two entire swimming pools!
5. Mosquitoes may seem to “bite,” and in fact they do have teeth! They have about 47 in all.
6. You can extend the life of a tooth that gets knocked out by putting it in milk or placing it temporarily in your mouth. Keep that in mind if you have to take an emergency trip to your Ocean County dentist!
7. When you skip flossing, you fail to clean up to 35% of your tooth surface area.
8. Humans beings will get two sets of teeth during their lifetime. By comparison, sharks will get about 40!
9. Every single year, students in America lose 51 million hours of class time due to dental-related maladies.
10. Consumers in America buy about 14 million gallons of toothpaste every single year.
11. If you think kids eat more candy than adults, you’d better think again. The truth is, adults consume about 65% of all the candy made in the United States
12. Over the course of your lifetime, you are likely to spend about 38 days brushing your teeth.
13. Snails have about 25 teeth in the weirdest place: on their tongue.
14. The most common childhood disease is one your dentist knows too well: tooth decay.
15. You can reduce your chance of tooth decay by 25% by brushing daily.
16. About 80% of dental injuries sustained by children in the United States happen to their front teeth.
17. A tooth that gets knocked out has to be treated fast: it will start to die within 15 minutes.
18. Your tongue prints are unique! No two are alike.
19. People used to use charcoal ashes, lemon juice, chalk, and other odd stuff to brush their teeth.
20. So-called “milk teeth” start to form while the baby is still in the womb, but they don’t actually show up until a child is six months to a year old.
21. Modern toothpaste is a fairly new thing: it has only been around for about 100 years.
22. George Washington only had one real tooth at the time of his inauguration!
23. About 25% of kids won’t have seen a dentist near Manahawkin before they reach kindergarten. Parents, do something about that!
24. Your teeth – or at the least the parts you can see – are only part of your dental health concerns, because about one third of your teeth are actually located underneath your gums.
25. If you added up all the people on Earth right now, it wouldn’t tally up to the number of bacteria in your mouth RIGHT NOW!

Pretty amazing stuff, huh? It’s easy to see why your pearly whites are so fascinating. They are far more interesting than people realize!

As dentists in Southern Ocean County, we see teeth of all shapes and sizes and configurations. The stuff we deal with, however, is pretty tame compared to the wild world of animal teeth. Consider these amazing facts:

Elephants – Elephants get a new set of teeth every 10 years so, with up to six to ten sets coming in over the course of their lifetime. Losing their teeth can be an Earth-shaking experience, too, because elephant molars can weigh up to ten pounds each! No wonder elephants don’t chew their food, they grind it. If you count their tusks, elephants also have the longest teeth in the world. They can weigh up to 400 pounds!

Snails – Snails are small and gross, but from a teeth perspective they are pretty amazing. They can have upwards of 25,000 teeth – and they’re located on their tongue!

Dogs – Your dog may chew on anything and everything put in front of her, but chances are she’ll get less cavities than you do. Dogs are much less prone to cavities than humans are because their saliva has an extremely high pH level.

Sharks – Sharks lose their teeth on a regular basis, often on a weekly basis, but they are replaced quickly by row after row of fearsome teeth that are constantly growing in behind the main set.

Crocodiles – Just like sharks, crocs lose their teeth often, but when any of their 60 teeth come out, another quickly grows in its place. Over the course of their lifetime a crocodile may end up having thousands of teeth. Another fun fact: crocs keep a clean mouth thanks to the help of small birds called Crocodile Birds that fly in and clean their teeth for then. We’re glad the birds do it, because no sane New Jersey dentist would stick their head in a crocodile’s mouth!

Dolphins – Dolphins may not resemble trees, but they do in one weird way: you can tell a dolphin’s age by counting the rings on its teeth.

Armadillos – These funny looking little creatures have 104 teeth – quite a lot for little guys. Not so funny is that armadillos are known to carry leprosy, the only animal other than humans known to be able to carry it.

Hippos – It may look like they only have four teeth when they open their mouth, but in fact hippos have about 40 teeth. You don’t see them because most of them are located well to the back of their mouth. (It’s also worth noting that they may look cute and docile, but hippos are actually highly dangerous, killing more people in Africa each year than any other animal.)

Rats – If you’ve ever had a pet rat, you know they like to gnaw on things. It’s not just a habit for them, either. They need to gnaw. Rat teeth never stop growing, so gnawing helps keep their teeth at a reasonable size. The same holds true for hamsters, gophers, beavers and mice.

Blue Whales – They are the largest creatures ever to have lived, having reached upwards of 110 feet long and the largest recorded weighing an astounding 190 tons. But they don’t have any teeth.

Giraffes – They’re much taller than you are, but their mouths are similar to yours in one way: giraffes have 32 teeth, just like you do. Still, we don’t think any Ocean County dentists are tall enough to treat a giraffe!

Can you think of any others? If so, feel free to comment on our Facebook. Maybe we can use them in a future column!