Chances are, you use your mouth for the majority of your day. Most of us go through our daily morning routine without giving much thought to what is going on in our mouths. Sure we brush our teeth and floss, but what’s really going on in there? Here are 10 facts you may not know:
1. Saliva Helps You Taste
Without all that saliva in your mouth, you wouldn’t be able to taste a thing. In order for food to have taste, chemicals from the food must first dissolve in saliva. Once dissolved, the chemicals can be detected by receptors on taste buds.
Bonus fact: we produce about 37,854 liters of saliva during our lives – enough to fill two swimming pools.
2. Close Your Mouth While Swimming
Following this guideline will help keep your mouth in tip-top shape since chlorine breaks down enamel.
3. Tooth Enamel is Hard
The enamel on the surfaces of your teeth is the hardest substance in your whole body. In order to protect that enamel, avoid acidic foods, chew sugar-free gum, and finish a meal with a glass of milk or a piece of cheese. Our Farber Center hygienists can give you additional methods of protecting your enamel and your entire mouth.
4. Teeth Are Alive
Your teeth have their own blood supply and nerves, which is why a tooth can actually die. A tooth that is knocked out dies within 15 minutes. Farber Center provides a wide array of services to extract and replace those dead teeth.
5. Your Tongue Has Super Stamina
While many believe the tongue to be the strongest muscle in the body, this is not a reality. However, your tongue still displays super stamina, says Maureen Stone, of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. “When’s the last time your tongue was tired?” she asks. “If you don’t have any disorders, the answer is probably never.” Stone says the tongue’s tenacity springs from the way it is built—with lots of similar bits of muscle that can each perform the same task. “It doesn’t fatigue,” she says, “because there’s a lot of redundancy in the muscle architecture. You simply activate different muscle fibers and get the same result.”
Additionally, the tongue is the only muscle in the human body that works without any support from the skeleton.
6. Your Dominant Hand Dictates Your Chewing Habits
If you’re right handed, you tend to chew your food on your right side. If you’re left-handed, you favor chewing on your left side.
7. You Spend More Than a Month Brushing Your Teeth
An average person spends 38.5 days brushing their teeth over the course of their lifetime.
8. Smiling Helps You Live Longer
Every time you smile, your body produces greater amounts of antibodies, giving you an immunity boost.
9. Your Mouth is Bacteria Central
The inside of your mouth contains as many bacteria as there are people on Earth. This is why brushing, flossing and using mouthwash is so important.
10. A Healthy Mouth = A Healthy Body
At Farber Center, we follow the total body health philosophy, which dictates that your oral health impacts your health as a whole. Many diseases are linked to oral health including heart disease, psoriasis, diabetes, and osteoporosis – to name a few.
For more information about your oral health continue to check our blog for updates as well as our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Call us with any questions or to make an appointment.
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