Interesting Dental Facts!
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!
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.
