Interesting Facts

Research carried out in the UK has revealed that nature's strongest biological material is to be found in the teeth of a limpet. (The publication, in the Royal Society's journal Interface, says that the teeth are made of a mineral-protein composite, which was found not only to be stronger than spider silk, but the very strongest of man-made materials too: stronger than Kevlar fibres and almost as good as the best high-performance carbon fibre materials. The idiom to stick or cling like a limpet, makes more sense now: it means to refuse to let go of something or someone.)

According to an article published in the scientific journal, Cell Regeneration, scientists have grown teeth out of human urine. (Stem cells have the potential to be grown into any type of tissue and other researchers have managed to grow teeth from gum cells, etc. but this team from China have found that human urine could be used as a source of stem cells. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "potty mouth".)

In the past young women from poor families had all their teeth taken out and replaced by dentures as a 21st birthday present. (These were sometimes presented to the man of their dreams as a sort of dowry. I guess the idea being that the woman wouldn't cost anything in dental bills, or maybe the teeth could be sold so that well to do people could have dentures.  This kind of thinking continued into the twentieth century, when having dentures was still a bit of a status symbol. Of course nowadays people will do anything to get that perfect white smile, I'm sure there will be equal astonishment in the future when someone reads about how people would bleach their teeth in the twenty-first century.)

Scientists in Japan have created a microscopically thin film that can coat individual teeth to prevent decay or to make them appear whiter. (Don't get too excited though.  It will take 5 years or more before the film could be used in practical dental treatment such as covering exposed dentin, but it could be used cosmetically within three years.  If it means I don't need to have my teeth sand-blasted every year, I'm all for it.) Source

In the early part of the 19th century, dentures were made of a variety of materials, from wood and ivory, to real human teeth. (Following the battle of Waterloo there was a plethora of spare teeth which had been extracted from the mouths of fallen soldiers.  They became known as Waterloo teeth. "Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained." The Duke of Wellington ) Source: H2G2  "

According to research from the Johannes Gutenberg University, white wine is bad for your teeth. (Their studies found that white wine is acidic, and it erodes the calcium in teeth. Riesling wines tended to have the greatest impact, having the lowest pH. Luckily, my preferred tipple, red wine, isn't as acidic.)

An NHS feedback body found that of 5,200 NHS patients asked, 6% had treated themselves at some point. (DIY dentistry! People are literally pulling their own teeth. Now I feel quite queasy.)

The world's oldest-known formula for toothpaste is one drachma of rock salt, two drachmas of mint, one drachma of dried iris flower and 20 grains of pepper, all of them crushed and mixed together. (It was discovered on a piece of dusty papyrus in the basement of a Viennese museum and was in use more than 1,500 years before Colgate began marketing the first commercial brand in 1873. An Austrian dentist who tried it said it made his gums bleed but was a "big improvement" on some toothpaste formulae used as recently as a century ago. I've tried a variant on it and it's ok.) * a drachma is a measure equal to one hundredth of an ounce. interesting facts

A diastema is a gap between the teeth. (And I always thought it was just a gap.)

The world's most common non-contagious disease is tooth decay.

It has been recommended by dentists that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (two meters) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush! (Note to self - must move toothbrush holder!)