Each set of teeth is unique
Each person's dentition is unique, just like their fingerprints.
Even if the differences in the distance between teeth in different people are fractions of a millimeter, each tooth has its own size, individual location, shape and a certain distance from neighboring teeth, which makes the dentition as a whole unique. Even two twins do not necessarily have the same dentition, because the formation of teeth is influenced not only by genes, but also by what happened in the first year of the baby’s life. For example, if one of the twins had the habit of thumb sucking, then his dentition will be different from the dentition of his brother or sister. Forensic dentistry is the science that identifies a victim or a criminal by their unique dentition. Specialists use databases with dental prints or x-rays.
Did you know that each person's tongue print is also unique?
Why you need to go to the dentist before the “first pain”
To maintain healthy teeth, simply brush them twice a day, avoid consuming sugar-containing foods, and purchase a suitable mouthwash. By following these simple rules, you can forget about visiting a specialist.
The scheme really works - in advertising of toothpastes and the mentioned mouthwashes.
In reality, visiting the dentist is recommended once every six months. This is important because many dental diseases can be treated faster and more reliably at an early stage: a qualified doctor will notice small caries in time, and the patient will not lose a tooth, which means he will not receive additional headaches in the form of worrying about installing implants or crowns.
You definitely shouldn’t wait for the first pain: this is a 100% sign of an advanced stage of dental disease. An experienced dentist can easily diagnose tooth decay, cracked enamel, gum disease and other signs of poor oral health during a routine examination if the patient makes it a habit to visit the dentist once every six months.
Teeth need saliva
Although saliva cannot replace brushing and flossing, it does serve a protective function.
Saliva helps protect teeth from plaque and also washes away food particles remaining on the surface of the teeth. Bacteria in plaque can lead to tooth decay as well as gum disease. A healthy person's body produces between 0.75 and 1.5 liters of saliva per day, which is about 35,000 liters over a lifetime - enough to fill two swimming pools! But xerostomia (insufficient salivation), a condition that is more common in older people, makes teeth more vulnerable and prone to decay.
Brush
The first cleaning devices appeared back in 1498 in China, using pig bristles, horse hair and badgers. In 1938, a synthetic (nylon) brush of a modern type was released into production.
After suffering an infection or cold, it is imperative to replace the brush, since microorganisms remain in its bristles, which can provoke a recurrence of the disease.
The only advantage of an electric brush over a conventional analogue is ease of use; all other declared qualities are a common advertising ploy for marketers. The same applies to whitening pastes.
The use of a brush cap, due to the increased humidity inside it, promotes the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms in the bristles.
Singer Mick Jager is the owner of the most expensive toothbrush, which is made of gold. Its price is about 4,000 dollars.
Not everyone likes straight teeth
Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with the correction of uneven teeth and malocclusion.
Wearing braces is especially popular in North America (and many other countries), where people associate a beautiful smile with straight, white teeth. To correct uneven teeth, your dentist may recommend installing veneers on your teeth. Each treatment method has its own pros and cons, which you can learn more about from your doctor. Prices for installing veneers in Moscow vary depending on the material (ceramic or composite veneers), dental clinic, and skill level of the specialist. But straight teeth are not the ideal of beauty in all cultures. For example, in Japan, some people prefer to wear special veneers that make their teeth crooked - many young girls install them on their straight teeth.
Some teeth are very expensive
In 2011, at an auction in the UK, a Canadian dentist bought one of John Lennon's teeth for £19,500 ($30,500).
The buyer hoped to use DNA extracted from the tooth to clone Mr Lennon in the future. In 1816, a tooth said to have belonged to Sir Isaac Newton was also sold in London for £730 ($1,140), equivalent to $35,700 today. It was the most expensive human tooth sold in history.
Unfortunately, these days, the tooth fairy only nets kids an average of $3 per lost baby tooth.
Dentures and plates
Before the advent of modern ceramic dentures, prosthetics made from real teeth of soldiers who died during combat operations were widely used.
In the Middle Ages, prosthetics were made by jewelers, and treatment was carried out by hairdressers. The essence of this therapy was conventional removal.
The list of interesting facts about teeth and dentistry will also be complemented by the old English tradition of giving dentures as a gift for a wedding. Since the teeth would soon fall out, it was believed that removing and replacing them now would lead to better wound healing and the installation of dentures.
Pierre Fauchard in 1728 invented a metal strip plate with which it was possible to correct malocclusion. The doctor also became the author of such useful inventions as a metal crown and pin.
Tooth enamel cannot repair itself
Unlike other organs of the human body, which can repair themselves if they are damaged to a certain extent, teeth do not have this ability. If a piece of a tooth breaks off, only a dentist can help in such a situation. If a tooth is cracked, you may need a filling or dental crown. If the root of the tooth is also affected, root canal treatment will be necessary. The outer layer of teeth, tooth enamel, is not living tissue. For this reason, it cannot recover on its own.
How does pediatric dentistry work?
A pediatric dentist is a psychologist and pediatrician rolled into one. The specialist is obliged not only to fulfill direct professional duties, but also to find an approach to a small, most often frightened patient.
Adults know that treatment and removal of teeth is no longer a sophisticated torture, but a comfortable procedure. But it’s difficult to explain this to children, so parents should think about introducing their child to a dentist as early as possible. Start with consultation visits, help the doctor create a trusting relationship with the child.
If the situation is urgent, then you need to go to a clinic with trusted specialists who will treat children’s teeth efficiently, without pain and tears, and most importantly, quickly. By the way, specialists at the Doctor Martin clinic advise, if possible, not to give your child painkillers if pain in the teeth occurs, but to call the dentists and make an appointment or get a consultation.
Nowadays, children have access to a variety of services—preventive, therapeutic, and surgical. When visiting the dentist at least once every six months, there is a chance that the child will only get preventive care.
Some people are congenitally missing teeth
Hypodontia (or dental agenesis) is the absence of one or more teeth that were never formed.
The most common case is wisdom teeth, which are missing in 9-35% of people, due to racial factors. With hypodontia, lateral incisors or second premolars may also be missing. Adentia is a very rare disease in which a person is missing all (or several) teeth. The opposite situation is hyperdentia, when extra teeth grow in the mouth, “in addition” to the normal number of teeth.
Today, the problem of missing one or more teeth can be solved using modern prosthetic methods. The dentist will select the optimal method in each specific case, since there are contraindications that need to be taken into account. Dental implantation in Moscow is one of the most popular procedures on the dental services market.
There is a tooth bank in Norway
MoBaTann, or dental biobank, is located in Norway.
Norwegian scientists plan to collect up to 100,000 children's baby teeth. All of these teeth will be the subject of research examining the relationship between environmental pollution and various diseases. It turns out that primary teeth can provide valuable information about the environment and nutrition during fetal development and early childhood. The condition of children's baby teeth is analyzed along with blood and urine samples from their parents. All this information will help provide an understanding of how environmental pollutants affect the health of mothers and children.
general information
Dentistry is a branch of medicine that studies:
- structure, functioning and disease of human teeth;
- diseases of the oral cavity, jaws;
- methods of their treatment and prevention.
History of development in the world
The oldest drill, proving that more than 9,000 years ago people of that time could already drill and fill, was found in the territory of modern Pakistan.
The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt had prosthetics that were made from animal bones, and for the pharaohs and nobility - from ivory, fastened with gold threads.
The dentures of the ancient Incas of the 4th century BC were the shells of sea mussels. This became known after archaeologists found human remains.
“Dentists” in Japan in the old days pulled out incisors and fangs only with their bare hands without using a special tool.
The first woman in the United States to earn a dental degree was Lucy Hobbs Taylor, who studied at Ohio State College in 1866.
Experts studied numerous finds, materials and drawings, as a result of which some interesting facts about dentistry of ancient times became known. For example, it was believed that the main cause of caries is a worm that makes holes and passages.
In ancient times, it was mainly representatives of rich and noble families who had diseased and damaged teeth. With access to high-quality, sweet foods, their teeth were constantly exposed to bacteria that contributed to the development of caries. Along with this, the poor segments of the population, eating simple and affordable food, did not have such serious problems.
History of the emergence of the industry in Russia
The appearance of the first special devices and the beginning of the development of the trend in the country became possible thanks to Peter I. He brought devices for treatment from his trips abroad. Some experts believe that the figure himself is also involved in the facts about the country’s dentistry, since he learned how to remove teeth, he had to pull out as many as 72 pieces.
In 1881, the first school began its work, which trained future dentists; in 1883, 450 people graduated from it.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War, there was a real peak in the development of the industry - new higher educational institutions were opened, some research and experiments were carried out, and the production of equipment and drills was launched. Also at that time, an abundance of fundamental works and interesting articles about dentistry were created and written by leading scientists and doctors.
The most dangerous sport for dental health is hockey.
Contrary to popular belief that the most traumatic sport for the dental system is boxing, statistics claim that 68% of hockey players are injured.
That is, hockey is the most “tooth-dangerous” sport. In boxing, blows in most cases are “softened” by gloves, mouthguards also help to avoid unnecessary injuries, but in hockey - in the event of a blow under the helmet with a puck or stick - there is practically no chance of keeping the dentition intact. Many athletes have to resort to the services of aesthetic dentistry in order to restore not only the aesthetics, but also the functionality of the dentition through the installation of implants or a bridge.
In China about
In addition, in China there is a special holiday - “Love Your Teeth Day”, which takes place on September 20th. This day was first celebrated in 1989. In this way, the state decided to attract people's attention to issues of dental health and proper oral care.
The Russian-American clinic “US Dental Care” in Moscow specializes in a wide range of dental services - from ultrasonic cleaning, teeth whitening, aesthetic dentistry to complex surgical operations, implantation and dental prosthetics. For young patients, there is a pediatric dentistry department, where children are provided with a special approach taking into account age-related psychology. American dentistry is conveniently located in the center of the capital on Olimpiysky Prospekt (metro Prospekt Mira, Dostoevskaya). The elite dental clinic is equipped with the latest modern equipment, and a team of highly qualified dentists regularly undergo internships in America and improve their professional level.
The article was written using primary source materials https://www.studiodentaire.com/articles/en/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-teeth.php
