FA+
Shop
Radio Contest from 1/20/20
6 years ago
General
Teeth 1/20/20 Three of these statements are true, and one is false. Which is the false one?
Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth
Snakes and sharks are rightly famous for the sharpness of their teeth, but there’s an extinct leech-like marine creature from the Cambrian Era, called a conodont, that had teeth that were sharper still.
These razor-sharp teeth were not large, it is true, but conodonts swam around a very long time ago, before modern bony fishes existed, and their tiny sharp teeth were devastating to the soft bodied creatures they preyed upon.
Conodonts could only apply a tiny biting force since their teeth were directly embedded in cartilage, rather than jawbones, and life became tough for them when the first bony fishes appeared. Those guys had tough skins, often sheathed in bony plates, and their jaws were formidable. The teeth of those early fish were dull, but who cares? They had a powerful new jaw design to drive them home, and that was all they needed to win Cambrian tooth wars.
Shark Shiv Shower
Sharks are the toothiest of all vertebrate animals, and requiem sharks are the toothiest of all sharks. Sharks are constantly growing new teeth and shedding old ones, and some species of requiem sharks are estimated to grow and shed thirty thousand teeth in their long lifetimes. That's threefold more than the great white shark, which goes through a mere ten thousand teeth during its lifetime.
Loved to Death
Ancient Egyptians were very fond of animals, and the pampered pets of wealthy Egyptians would, at times, receive state-of-the-ancient-art medical and dental care. One pet dog, belonging to a noble named Hanscrit from the reign of the Theban Queen Makare, was mummified wearing a necklace of alabaster scarab beads, malachite earrings in both ears … and a gold-inlaid dental filling in one aged canine tooth.
Iron Teeth and Wooden Chips
Beaver teeth are not white. They’re not even yellow. Bright orange would be a better term to describe them. They are orange because of their enamel’s high iron content. Most mammal teeth incorporate magnesium in the enamel to make it harder, but beavers use iron instead. This iron substitution makes the teeth much harder, and also more resistant to acid. This acid resistance means beavers don’t get cavities in their teeth, and researchers are working on ways to provide that benefit for human teeth as well. If we could incorporate iron into human teeth it would be better than fluoride treatments. Our teeth would be harder, more resistant to decay … better in every way except for that slight side effect of a cheery, bright orange smile.
Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth
Snakes and sharks are rightly famous for the sharpness of their teeth, but there’s an extinct leech-like marine creature from the Cambrian Era, called a conodont, that had teeth that were sharper still.
These razor-sharp teeth were not large, it is true, but conodonts swam around a very long time ago, before modern bony fishes existed, and their tiny sharp teeth were devastating to the soft bodied creatures they preyed upon.
Conodonts could only apply a tiny biting force since their teeth were directly embedded in cartilage, rather than jawbones, and life became tough for them when the first bony fishes appeared. Those guys had tough skins, often sheathed in bony plates, and their jaws were formidable. The teeth of those early fish were dull, but who cares? They had a powerful new jaw design to drive them home, and that was all they needed to win Cambrian tooth wars.
Shark Shiv Shower
Sharks are the toothiest of all vertebrate animals, and requiem sharks are the toothiest of all sharks. Sharks are constantly growing new teeth and shedding old ones, and some species of requiem sharks are estimated to grow and shed thirty thousand teeth in their long lifetimes. That's threefold more than the great white shark, which goes through a mere ten thousand teeth during its lifetime.
Loved to Death
Ancient Egyptians were very fond of animals, and the pampered pets of wealthy Egyptians would, at times, receive state-of-the-ancient-art medical and dental care. One pet dog, belonging to a noble named Hanscrit from the reign of the Theban Queen Makare, was mummified wearing a necklace of alabaster scarab beads, malachite earrings in both ears … and a gold-inlaid dental filling in one aged canine tooth.
Iron Teeth and Wooden Chips
Beaver teeth are not white. They’re not even yellow. Bright orange would be a better term to describe them. They are orange because of their enamel’s high iron content. Most mammal teeth incorporate magnesium in the enamel to make it harder, but beavers use iron instead. This iron substitution makes the teeth much harder, and also more resistant to acid. This acid resistance means beavers don’t get cavities in their teeth, and researchers are working on ways to provide that benefit for human teeth as well. If we could incorporate iron into human teeth it would be better than fluoride treatments. Our teeth would be harder, more resistant to decay … better in every way except for that slight side effect of a cheery, bright orange smile.
