The snail’s mouth is no larger than the head of a pin, but it can have over 25,000 teeth!
The Elephant grinds down its molars and grows new ones. This happens six times in its lifetime!
The elephant’s molar is about 7″ square!!!
The Blue Whale is the largest mammal on earth, but it eats only tiny shrimp because it has no teeth!
The Crocodile Bird flies into the open mouth of a crocodile and cleans its teeth for it!
The teeth of the Pocket Gopher grow up to 15″ a year! By continually gnawing, they wear them down and they stay the same size. Rats, mice and your hamster among others have teeth that grow continually. If you have one as a pet, it must have wood to gnaw on to shorten its teeth, or it can die.
The Dolphin only gets one set of teeth to last a lifetime!
Dental Number Facts
18 yards – the amount of floss bought each year per person
10 to 12 – the number of teaspoons of sugar in an average 12 oz. soda
122 yards – the amount of floss that should be bought each year
$2.025 billion – the amount spent on Halloween candy in 2001
$1.8 billion – annual amount spent on toothpaste
$775 million – annual amount spent on toothbrushes
78% of Americans have at least one cavity by age 17
74% of Americans have some type of periodontal disease
3 sodas – the number of sodas that increase tooth decay by 62%
45-70 seconds – the amount of time most people brush a day
2 – 3 minutes – the recommended amount of brushing time
$50 billion – the amount spent on dental care
$100 billion – the amount spent on hair care
$300 billion – the amount spent on lottery tickets
300 types of bacteria make up dental plaque
1,611,000 – the number of school days missed in 1996 due to dental problems
600 – the number of cans of soda consumed yearly by the average American!
Dental History Facts
In 1866 Lucy Beaman Hobbs became the first licensed female dentist
In 1986, the winner of the National Spelling Bee won by spelling ODONTALGIA (which means a toothache)
The average amount of money left by the Tooth Fairy in 1950 was 25 cents. In 1988 it was $1.00.
The earliest dentist known by name is Hesi-Re. He lived in Egypt over 5000 years ago.
In Egypt, mummies have been found with tooth fillings of resin and malachite. Loose teeth were held together with gold wire.
The first toothbrushes were tree twigs. Chewing on the tips of the twigs spread out the fibers, which were then used to clean the teeth.
Ancient Greeks used pumice, talc, alabaster, coral powder or iron rust as toothpaste.
George Washington never had wooden teeth. His dentures were made from Gold, hippopotamus tusk, elephant ivory and human teeth!!
Blacksmiths in early America often served as Dentists also
In 201 AD the Romans were dental experts – using gold crowns and fixed bridgework, and a paste made of ground eggshell and honey to clean the teeth.
In 1905 dental assistant Irene Newman was trained to clean teeth. She became the first Dental Hygienist.
