Did you know that the hardest part of the human body is not their skull (although some parents will find that hard to believe), nor any other bones? It’s actually the enamel found on our teeth.
All those pearly whites are protected by a hard enamel coating, which is a good thing, because like many chocolates, teeth have a soft center. Inside each tooth is a space filled by pulp, which consists of nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. The pulp supplies your teeth with the nutrients to stay “alive” and in your mouth.
We use our teeth to prepare food for digestion- grinding, crushing, and tearing, although not with quite the same relish as our caveman ancestors. Although we can blame those first family members for one of the most annoying problems we have, and that is our wisdom teeth. According to specialists, current theory holds that wisdom teeth are a relic of our Neanderthal days when the skull of “Hominus Chewitus” (yes, it’s a joke folks), was longer, and the diet much harder to deal with, not having steak knives, blenders, and meat grinders. Today, wisdom teeth try to compete for space in a jaw that has no room at the inn, and so they are soon “out”.
The rest of our teeth, which come in two sets as babies and adults, are there for good, or until you get plastic choppers. Something that many dentists contend will never be necessary with proper dental care. The major cause of dental damage and eventual tooth loss, is the naturally occurring bacteria in our mouths, being sent into overdrive after eating sweet stuff. That bacteria then eats through the hard enamel, creating a hole right down into the soft pulp, something that is proportionately painful to how long it is before you can get to the dentist.
