Information about Teeth

Teeth are needed to chop your food up into small enough pieces so that you can comfortably swallow it. Despite the importance of the teeth, a vast majority of us neglect them which we all know can be a very painful mistake! In the western world nearly every single person has some sort of tooth decay or gum disease. There are many reasons why teeth get damaged, the most common is eating foods that contain too much sugar. Other reasons include not cleaning them properly and eating foods that are too hard, such as rock or toffee.In this day and age cleaning our teeth could not be easier what with the introduction of the electric toothbrush.

There are three different types of tooth in your mouth on each jaw and they each have a different job to do. The incisors are at the front of your mouth, you will notice their flat, sharp edges which are designed to be able cut the food as you bite into it. Your canines are fang looking teeth and they can be found at the front of your mouth, they can tear through the tougher foods and tear it apart which is why they are quite pointed. Premolars and molars are found at the back of the mouth and they crush the food up into easy to swallow pieces.

The number of teeth you have changes with age and this is because for some unknown reason everyone will receive two sets of teeth in a lifetime. The first set, the milk teeth or baby teeth are only temporary and begin to develop from birth and are fully formed at around 24 months. There will be 20 teeth in a full set of milk teeth. Around the age of 7 or 8, the milk teeth will begin to fall out to make way for your adult teeth. A full set of adult teeth will include another 12 teeth, 32.

It doesn’t take that long to care for your teeth, just a few minutes a day. Follow these pointers to ensure your teeth are in tip top shape!

·           Avoid anything too sugary (obvious but true). It would be quite difficult to do this so try and eat sugar free sweets and use sweeteners such as Canderel.

·           Use dental floss, flossing will move the pieces of food trapped in between your teeth where sometimes brushing will miss.

·           Brush your teeth twice a day and if possible, brush them after a sugary snack or meal.

·           Only drink water during the night as sweet drinks will leave sugary deposits on your teeth.

Why is sugar so bad for your teeth?

If something is really bad for you then why on earth does it have to taste so good?!! Well, unfortunately that is the way that it is. Sugar encourages the bacteria in your mouth to make acids. These acids attack the enamel and if left to their own devices will destroy your teeth. You only get one set of teeth so make sure you look after them, going the dentist is not the most pleasant experience and it can also be quite costly.