Interesting Dental Facts

Valley Dental Group

Interesting Dental Facts

"SMILE - It's contagious!"

ANIMAL DENTAL FACTS!!!!!

* Dogs have 42 teeth

* Cats have 30 teeth

* Pigs have 44 teeth

* The armadillo has 104 teeth!!

* 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 it's teeth for it!

* The teeth of the Pocket Gopher grow upto 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!

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Strange but true... Americans spend less per year

on dental care than hair care or Lottery tickets!!!!

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 Hallowen 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 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 Egypy, 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.

Lucy Beaman Hobbs

Valley Dental Group * 5 Commerce Ave. * Selinsgrove * PA * 17870

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