Navigating Healthcare: A Guide to Modern Medicine and Wellness

Tag: teeth

The Structure of The Tooth

Healthy TeethYou may gaze into the mirror and simply see a set of pearly whites grinning back at you, but those teeth are a little more complex in their composition – more than you probably have ever thought about.

When you think of it, your teeth are challenged every day to withstand icy cold or steaming hot drinks, or to crunch down and pulverize every piece of food that you put into your mouth.  We’ve had our current teeth since we outgrew our baby teeth and got the permanent set, and, for some, old cavities or dental issues forced us to get crowns so that our old metal fillings were not so unsightly.

The Anatomy of Teeth

TeethSomeone once said that good-looking people with strong teeth get things handed to them on platters. If this is true, undoubtedly it’s because the teeth are one of the first things we see … or should see … when meeting someone for the first time. In fact, in a recent poll, more than 50 percent of people said that a smile is the first thing they notice about someone!

But how much do you really know about teeth? For instance, did you know that, before the invention of toothpaste, people ground up chalk, charcoal, or ashes and added lemon juice or made a honey-tobacco mixture to clean their teeth? Or did you know that in 1800s England people who had false teeth often ate in their bedrooms before events where they gathered for dinners so they could be protected from the embarrassment of having their teeth fall out in front of others? Or, did you know that a common custom in the Middle Ages was to kiss a donkey to relieve toothaches? It’s true!