Your Teeth Are Unique, and Other Interesting Tooth Facts
Date: March 12, 2025
Your Teeth Are Unique, and Other Interesting Tooth Facts
When looking at the basic set of teeth, one might first see standard, white teeth all lined up uniformly. Ordinarily, the view may not even be significant. However, while teeth may look pretty standard, they are very different and quite fascinating. Here are some interesting facts you might not know regarding teeth.
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Your Teeth Are Unique
Leaving your dental impression in a dental mold is, in actuality, leaving quite an impression! One might say it is even a singular work of art. This is because, just as no two fingerprints are alike, also no two sets of teeth are identical.1 And the singular uniqueness of your teeth extends beyond their mere appearance to the intricate details of dental structure and alignment.1 Genetic factors and environmental influences shape each person’s teeth. This makes our teeth a distinctive part of our identity.1
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You Have 32 Teeth–Maybe
You have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Most children have 20 primary teeth that grow in (erupt) between the ages of 4 months old and 6 years old. These are small baby teeth that eventually fall out for larger, permanent teeth to come in.2
In all, most adults have 32 permanent teeth. However, some people are born with missing teeth (hypodontia), and others have extra teeth (hyperdontia).2 This doesn’t count the teeth one might lose from not brushing correctly or ones that may be knocked out.
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Teeth Start Forming Before You’re Born
“I cut my teeth on Shakespeare” or “he’s just cutting his teeth on this“ are colloquialisms people use to explain when someone is learning or mastering something new. It implies an early start. Usually, people are very young while cutting their teeth.
Yet, people may not realize how young cutting one’s teeth can be. Teeth form as early as six weeks into pregnancy.3 This means that although they haven’t erupted, teeth are starting to form in the womb.4 A child’s first tooth generally appears or erupts between 6–10 months of age. The first teeth to break through the gums are usually the two bottom front teeth, the central incisors.4
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Saliva Around Your Teeth is a Natural Defense
In your mouth, around your teeth is saliva. Often undervalued, saliva, or spit as it’s usually called, washes away food particles and neutralizes acids produced by bacteria. Your mouth produces about 1–2 liters of saliva daily, acting as a natural defense system.3
The enzymes found in saliva are essential for your mouth to begin the process of digestion of dietary starches and fats.5 Saliva enzymes play a role in breaking down food particles entrapped within dental crevices, thus protecting teeth from bacterial decay. Saliva also performs a lubricating function, wetting food, permitting the initiation of swallowing, and protecting the oral mucosa from drying out.5
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Plaque is a Living Colony
Plaque is not just a sticky, cheese-like film on your teeth; it is a living colony of bacteria.6 Moreover, it’s an organized colony of multiple forms of bacteria that constantly live in your mouth.7 Additionally, plaque contains leftover food particles and saliva.
When you eat, the bacteria in your mouth feed on food debris (like sugars and carbohydrates).6 But if you don’t remove plaque with routine dental cleanings and daily brushing and flossing, it can cause cavities, gum disease, and other oral health issues.6 You can never eliminate these bacteria from your body, but you can keep them from destroying your teeth.7
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Enamel is the Hardest Substance in Your Body
The enamel that covers the outer layer of your teeth is the hardest substance in the human body. It’s white and looks similar to a small bone. However, teeth are not bones. Teeth comprise three hard mineralized tissues: enamel, dentin, and cementum. Contained in teeth is a soft tissue called pulp.
Although teeth and bones share some similarities, they are different.3 Compared to teeth made primarily of the mineral hydroxyapatite, bone is mostly collagen.8 The enamel on your teeth is even stronger than bone.3 Unlike bones, teeth cannot heal themselves if they are damaged.3 But, then, you knew that, right? Because the last time you broke your tooth a dentist had to repair it. No one placed a sling or a cast on your tooth. 🦷
If you want to learn more about teeth, check out our dental assistant program today.~
By Cindy R. Chamberlin.
Citations:
1^a, b Medini Dental. “Teeth Fact: Discover Unique Teeth Patterns: No Two Are Alike.” Medini Dental Group | Dental Clinic | Dental Implant. August 4, 2024. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
2^a, b Cleveland Clinic. “Teeth.” Cleveland Clinic, 2023. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
3^a, b, c, d, e Crabapple Dental. “Did You Know These 10 Surprising Facts About Your Teeth?” Crabapple Dental. August 19, 2024. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
4^a, b “Teething: Order of Appearance-Teething Chart|OrajelTM Kids.” Www.orajelkids.com. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
5^a, b Wikipedia Contributors. “Saliva.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, March 13, 2019. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
6^a, b, c Cleveland Clinic. “Dental Plaque: What Is It, Causes, How to Remove, Prevent & Treat.” Cleveland Clinic. October 14, 2020. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
7^a, b “What Is Plaque? – Dentist Portland OR – Dr. Martha Rich, DMD.” 2018. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)
8 Padayachy, Jay. What Are Teeth Made Of? – Senova Blog. April 19. 2019. (Accessed February 28, 2025.)