What You Might Not Know About Your Mouth: 15 Interesting Facts

As humans, we are constantly learning about our bodies more and more everyday. As technology advances in the dental industry, our teeth have more to say about ourselves than we could imagine. Not only can the size of your teeth determine your approximate age- due to their growth cycle, scientist can actually tell what type of eating patterns you had based off the marks left on your teeth from wear and tear over time. This is just the start to understanding how unique your teeth and mouth really are and the many functions they do.

First Let’s Talk About the Fun Facts That You May Not Know:

• Unless food is mixed with saliva, you cannot taste it.
• A one-minute kiss burns 26 calories.
• Your enamel is the hardest substance in your body.
• Your mouth produces 1 liter of saliva per day.
• Everyone has their own unique tongue print.
• Every human has taste buds on the inside of their cheeks.
• The average human will consume 100 pounds of food in their lifetime.
• The most common human disease is tooth decay.
• The average person has around 10,000 taste buds.
• It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 43 muscles to frown.

5 Sanitary Facts That You May Not Know About Your Mouth and Toothbrush:

• Keeping your toothbrush five to six feet away from the toilette will help keep bacteria from contaminating your toothbrush when flushing occurs. Make sure you find a more sanitary area to keep them stored and use caps on them if necessary.
• Sharing a toothbrush is not sanitary. Think about it. Toothbrushes are a method we use to clear bacteria out of our mouths. If our spouse uses it, then we do- we could transmit bacteria and it could lead to further infection.
• After a cold, sore throat, or any oral infection, you should always change out your toothbrush to make sure you do not keep infecting yourself.
• Toothpaste with fluoride can be harmful if swallowed constantly. It is always recommended to buy your children non-fluoridated toothpaste until they are old enough to know not to swallow.
• By placing the cap back onto your toothbrush can actually harm your toothpaste by adding moisture into closed areas, which would help preserve bacteria in the tube.

Your mouth is more interesting than you thought huh? Keeping up with your oral hygiene is not only important to your smile, but for your health as well. It is always recommended you meet with your Alpharetta dentist routinely and get started on the right path of cleaning methods to incorporate into your daily life. No one knows your mouth better than your dentist- so get to know them and ask detailed questions so you can be better informed when it comes to your pearly whites.

For more information about keeping up with your oral hygiene, contact us today or schedule an appointment to meet with your Alpharetta dentist today.