Those not so pearly whites

I do not remember when my baby teeth came in so I had no idea how painful it was.  When my daughter’s teeth came in, it was clear she was in pain. Ironically, while she was teething, I too started to teeth to feel her pain; it must have been my paternal instinct.  Having been through the experience, it does not feel good.

While we were sharing the experience, the teeth that were coming in were quit different.  She was getting her first of her baby teeth, me being much older and wise; I was getting the last of my permanent teeth, my wisdom teeth.  I recently had my wisdom teeth pulled and all this teething got me curious.

As with everything I have researched, I was immediately amazed how little I knew about teeth.  Our teeth develop in much the same way as non-mammals teeth do.  The interaction between two embryonic layers of tissue of our developing skin come together, fold or change shape.  They then both secrete proteins that will form the structures.  The process in which teeth form is the same process in which feathers, hair, scales, even sweat glands form.  While our teeth form the same way, that does not mean that they behave the same way.

We have two sets of teeth, while other animals can have less or more.  Sharks can grow new teeth almost every two weeks.  Our Baby teeth start developing in utero around six weeks while permanent molars start to form around week 20.  We keep our “baby” teeth until about age six at which time we start to get our second set of teeth.  Current research suggests that periodontal ligaments play an important role in tooth eruption. Once our permanent teeth come in, they do not grow any longer which is different in some rodents.

When I was growing up, we had a rabbit that gave me nightmares because his teeth were long and creepy.  Rodents’ teeth keep growing while maintaining them by gnawing and chewing.  This did not work for our rabbit so we had to cut his teeth with a fingernail clipper so they did not grow too long.

These unique characteristics of teeth are very useful to Scientists.  They can tell what the unknown animals diet was based on their teeth.  They also use them to identify fossil species and their relationships.  Teeth withstand time very well because they are so hard.  The hard part of the tooth is the outer layer and called enamel while the inside is made of dentin.

I was able to see these parts on my teeth because much to my wife’s dismay I kept my wisdom teeth so I could study them.  I have studied them in depth and they my wife is tired of them being under my pillow so if there is a tooth fairy, please stop by and pick them up.