More fun dental facts

Most people would say there is nothing fun about going to the dentist, but there are some fun dental facts that you may enjoy sharing with your friends and family. They might even make you smile!

Did you know......

Students that smile in school yearbooks are more likely to have successful careers and marriages than poker-faced peers.

Kids laugh around 400 times a day. Grownups laugh about 15 times.

The cotton candy making machine was co-invented by a dentist. Before it was cotton candy, the fluffy confection was called “fairy floss.”

People who drink 3 or more sugary sodas daily have 62 percent more dental decay, fillings and tooth loss.

In Medieval Germany, it was believed that the only cure for a toothache was to kiss a donkey.

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, the average person only brushes for 45 to 70 seconds a day. The recommended amount of time is 2-3 minutes.

Remember to replace your toothbrush after you recover from a cold or flu to avoid re-infection.

In the 1800’s people who had false teeth in England ate in their bedrooms before gatherings and events at the dinner table. This unique Victorian tradition protected them against the embarrassment of having their teeth “fall out” while dining.

Newborn babies do not actually have tooth decay bacteria. They receive the bacteria from parents by sharing utensils, kissing them, and tasting their food before feeding it to them.

The ancient Chinese usually wrapped tiny parchment around their painful teeth which contained written incantations and payers to relieve pain.

The calcium and phosphorous food in cheese is healthy for your teeth, it reduces the pH level in plaque and remineralizes the enamel.

The stone-faced farmer in artist Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic” painting was actually the artist’s dentist.

Rabbits’ teeth never stop growing. They keep them worn down by gnawing on hay, bark, and other hard foods.

People with gum disease are twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as those without disease.

Six is the magic number of feet away from your toilet you should store your toothbrush in order to avoid airborne particles from toilet flushing making their way to your bristles. Yuck!

According to a recent survey by Time magazine, 59 percent of people would rather have a dental appointment than sit next to someone who is talking on a cell phone.

In Egypt, mummies have been found with fillings comprised of resin and malachite, and gold wire was used to bind together loose teeth.

The Lemon Shark grows a new set of teeth every two weeks.

A long time ago, humans utilized charcoal or ground up chalk, ashes, lemon juice, and honey-tobacco mixture to clean their teeth. It was only around a hundred years ago that toothpaste was invented.

Today, around forty percent of people over 65 years of age do not have a complete set of teeth.

Most adults have 32 teeth. In comparison, mosquitoes have about 47 teeth, and some types of snails have 25,000 teeth... on their tongues. Minnows have teeth in their throat.

Smokers remain three times more likely than non-smokers to lose all their teeth.

Raisins and dried fruits can cause more tooth decay than chocolate because they stay on the teeth longer and therefore feed the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Sports-related injuries account for approximately 5 million missing teeth per year, so make sure you wear a mouth guard.

Some of our favorites from the first part of fun dental facts:

If you’re right handed, you will chew your food on your right side. If you’re left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.

The average human produces 25,000 quarts of saliva in a lifetime. That is enough saliva to fill 2 swimming pools. [Saliva has many uses including assisting you with your digestion and protects teeth from bacteria in your mouth.]

The average woman smiles about 62 times a day! A man? Only eight!

Every year, kids in North American spend close to half a billion dollars on chewing gum.

In the middle ages, people believe that dog’s teeth boiled in wine made an excellent mouth rinse for tooth decay prevention.

Dogs have 42 teeth, cats 30 teeth, pigs 44 teeth, and an armadillo has 104 teeth.

The tooth pick is the object most often choked on by Americans.

Giraffes only have bottom teeth, and turtles and tortoises are toothless.

Facts have been gathered from different Internet sources.