9 Fun Dental Facts from Your California Dentist
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Do you know much an elephant’s molar weights?
On average, the average elephant’s molar weights almost nine pounds! Imagine having dozens of heavy teeth in your mouth. In fact, if you add up all the teeth in an elephant’s mouth, you may just exceed the weight of the average human.
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Dental floss has been used to escape
Back in 1994, a prisoner in a West Virginia prison took dental floss and braided it together. The result? A rope! He was actually successful in this escape plan but was later caught and taken back to prison. Kids listen up: Floss may be more useful than you think!
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Guess how long people have been brushing their teeth?
We don’t know what our ancient ancestors did to take care of their teeth, if anything, but we do know that the first animal hair tooth brush was made in 1498 in China. That’s right – the bristles were made with animal hair!
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If you open up a snail’s mouth you’re likely to get a fright
You may have trouble finding the mouth of a snail – after all, it’s no larger than a pin – but once you get it open and get out your microscope you’ll be amazed to see that there are more than 25,000 teeth inside. That’s a whole lot of teeth!
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Toothpicks can be dangerous
Did you know that of all the objects choked on throughout the world, toothpicks are one of the most common? That’s why it’s important to be extra careful when you’re picking your teeth or if you’re in the habit of holding a toothpick in your mouth.
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How much do you know about the way you chew?
Do you believe you only chew up and down? The truth is that we’re actually pretty similar to cows in that we also chew side to side. The next time you eat something particularly chewy, note how you’re chewing and you’ll see for yourself.
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Do you have a guess about how much dental floss we buy in North America?
You may not believe it, but in North America, more than three million miles of dental floss are bought every year. That’s enough to go around the earth 120 times! At California Dental Group we hope that the amount of dental floss bought is similar to the amount of dental floss used.
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Not flossing can have a significant impact
Did you know that if you’re not flossing you’ll miss more than one-third of the surface of your teeth? Contact California Dental Group right away at (800) 407-0161 to get your professional cleaning and be sure you’re following proper oral health between cleanings.
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The first braces were a sight to behold
Back in 1728, the French came up with the first braces. They were made from metal and string and were certainly much less comfortable than today’s Invisaligns.
