Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Facts of Life ~ Teeth



* In 200 AD, the Romans used a mixture of bones, eggshells, oyster shells and honey to clean their teeth.

* A mosquito has 47 teeth.

* In 1400 A.D. toothbrushes were invented in China using wild boar neck-hairs as bristles.

* Paul Revere was a practicing dentist.

* Certain cheeses, including aged cheddar, Swiss and Monterey Jack, have been found to protect teeth from decay.

* In 1780, William Addis of England made the first modern toothbrush with cow hairs and a bone handle.

* Queen Elizabeth I's teeth were noticeably discoloured. A German traveler, Paul Henter, speculated that the discoloration was due to the Queen's excessive consumption of sugar, making the first recorded association between sugar and tooth decay.

* In the 1920's, toothbrush handles made of a plastic called celluloid replaced bones.

* The ancient Egyptians believed the application of a freshly killed mouse to an aching tooth would cure it.

* In 1938, the first nylon bristles provided an alternative to using animal hair.

* A time honoured custom in England which carried through to colonial Australia, was the belief that mice had magical powers. When a child lost their first baby tooth it was dropped into a mouse hole to ensure the little person's freedom from toothache.

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