Did you know the mouth is truly incredible in the way it all works together, the structures, and
even the cells? There are many amazing facts about our mouths – for instance – the shape,
size, and bite of your teeth are unique, just like fingerprints! We’ve compiled some information
and fun facts we think are particularly interesting.
Have you ever tossed food and caught it in your mouth? Or maybe you even made it into a
contest to see who could catch it from the furthest away? Some people have gone to great
lengths to become the world record holders. Dallas Anderson, Jon Paleka, and some friends got
together and built a giant slingshot, and then Anderson flung marshmallows across the field
while Paleka tried to catch one in his mouth. He caught one on the second try – from 225 feet
and 10 inches away!
A few years later, a duo attempted a similar record – with a twist. Using a catapult, Ryan Hong
launched a gummy candy that Will Sorenson caught in his mouth from 177 feet, 2 inches away!
Can you beat those records?
Did you know that babies are born with their first set of teeth? Most babies have these 20 teeth
under their gums, but some are born with one or more teeth already erupted. The record
holder is Sean Keaney from the UK. In April 1990, he was born with 12 teeth!
Most people lose all their baby teeth before they are teens, but Leonard Murray of
Chattanooga, TN, still had a baby tooth when he was 90 years and 192 days old!
Most people will have 32 adult teeth, but some will have more or less. The record holder for
most teeth is Evano Mellone from Canada, who had 41. That’s one crowded mouth!
Wisdom teeth have their name because they erupt later in life when you (hopefully!) have more
wisdom. However, some people are missing one or more wisdom teeth! As you can imagine,
genetics usually plays a role in this. While many teens have their wisdom teeth removed, some
don’t need to – either because they don’t have any or the teeth will not negatively impact the
mouth if they do erupt. Others may need to have them removed earlier or later than normal,
and guess what? There are records for that.
A boy who holds the record for being the youngest to have a wisdom tooth extracted is Ryan
Scarpelli, who was 9 years and 327 days old. One of his upper wisdom teeth was affecting a
molar, so the wisdom tooth was removed when he hadn’t even lost all his baby teeth!
In contrast, the oldest person to have a wisdom tooth erupt is Robert W. Gray, who was 94 years
and 253 days old when his record-breaking tooth was discovered at a routine dental cleaning!
Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. Unfortunately, tooth cells don’t
regenerate, which means they cannot heal themselves if they are damaged or become infected.
That is not good news because tooth decay is the second most common disease. (The common
cold is #1.) And – not so fun fact - around 3 million teeth are lost at sporting events in just one
year. For something that can’t regenerate itself, humans don’t seem to be that good at keeping
teeth healthy!
Thankfully, we have X-rays to help. Just like most of an iceberg is underwater, a lot of each tooth
is under the gum. So, dentists use X-rays to see if the hidden parts of your teeth are healthy and
also to see how permanent teeth are growing in!
X-ray with Primary and Permanent Teeth
Your tongue is amazing. It is one of the strongest and most sensitive muscles in the body – and
the only muscle that can function without the skeleton! It is actually made up of 8 different
muscles that work together, which makes it super flexible. Just like your fingerprints, each
tongue print is unique.
Taste buds have a lifespan of about 10 days. That doesn’t mean that a tastebud disappears after
10 days. Instead, the cells are constantly regenerating, and about every 10 days, a tastebud is
made of entirely new cells! Of course, if you burn your tongue, they will die and be regenerated
sooner.
Taste Bud Cells
Saliva is important for many reasons: it keeps the mouth moist, helps you chew and swallow
food, and even protects teeth. Most people produce enough saliva throughout their lives to fill
two swimming pools – approximately 100,000 gallons!
Interestingly, the amount of saliva you produce can change depending on your posture, the
amount of light wherever you are, and how much stress you are under. You create more saliva
when standing and less when lying down. You also produce less saliva when you are in a dark
place, and much less saliva when you’re stressed.
There are around 500-650 different species of bacteria in a person’s mouth - with as many as 20
BILLION bacteria in your mouth altogether. (To put it in perspective, currently there are a bit
over 8 billion people on Earth.) Luckily, most of those bacteria species are beneficial, and there
are things you can do to encourage healthy species while killing off the harmful types. The
plaque that forms on teeth can contain more than 300 species of bacteria, and the harmful ones
(like Streptococcus mutans) contribute to cavities and gum disease. So, that is why brushing and
flossing your teeth is so very important.
Being sick is no fun, so here’s a pro tip – you can prevent reinfection if you replace or sterilize
your toothbrush after being sick.
We talk about how important flossing is, but did you know dental floss is used for more than
just keeping teeth clean and healthy? It is used in all sorts of crafts (just search dental floss
crafts for tons of great ideas!) and for fishing and tying climbing plants to their supports, just to
name a few. However, perhaps one of the most interesting uses was in 1994 when a prisoner
braided dental floss into a rope to climb a wall and escape! He used seven 100-yard packs of
floss to create the rope, and as you may imagine, he said it was tough to climb. His hard work
won him 41 days of freedom before he was captured.
There are 19 different types of smiles, and you can recognize a smile from 300 feet away. Smiles
are contagious, and a sincere smile usually triggers dopamine and serotonin (feel-good
chemicals) in the smiler and the people who see the smile. Smiling also boosts your immune
system.
Can you guess which food is proven to make people smile more than any other food?
Chocolate!
We love to see your beautiful smiles, and it’s our privilege to help your family keep them
healthy. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!
