We know you wanted to brush up on your dental trivia, so here it goes!
- Who invented dentures? Around 700BC, Etruscans in northern Italy made dentures out of human and animal teeth.
- George Washington was a famous denture wearer, but did you know his teeth were NOT made out of wood? George Washington’s teeth were actually made from hippopotamus ivory, and human, donkey & horse teeth.
- “Doc” Holliday may have been one of the most famous dentists. Did you know his real name was John Henry? “Doc” Holliday earned his degree in dentistry from Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery at 20 years old. (Dr. Bomstad was 26) He ultimately died at the age of 36 from tuberculosis.
- Pennsylvania College of Dental surgery has now become the dental schools of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.
- Famous People you didn’t know were dentists:
Edgar Buchanan– Actor known for his roles in “Petticoat Junction”, “Green Acres”, and “The Beverly Hillbillies”.
Zane Grey-Author of Western novels.
Thomas Welch-Invented the pasteurization process for grape juice. Who doesn’t like Welch’s grape juice?
Miles Henry Davis-The father of musician Miles Davis.
Paul Revere-Famous Revolutionary war hero who made the midnight ride.
Mark Spitz-Won 7 gold medals in swimming. He was accepted into dental school, but choose not to attend.
Les Horvath-Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State.
Jack Miller-Indy racecar driver.
Hector Jose Campora-Past President of Argentina.
John Haase– Author
Bill Baker-1980 “miracle on ice” US Olympic Hockey Team member, gold medal winner.
Bill Osmanski-Football player and coach.
Cory Middlecoff-Professional golfer.
Lester Hunt– Governor of Wyoming and United States Senator.
Bill Emerson-Republican State Senator from California.
Jim Lonborg-1967 Cy Young award winner.
Karent Sierra-“Real Housewives Miami” cast member.
Edward Zuckerberg-The father of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
- Each person’s set of teeth is unique, like fingerprints. Even identical twins do not have exactly the same set of teeth!
- Your tongue print is also unique!
- According to Dr. Oz, the average woman smiles about 62 times per day, the average man just 8. Can you believe babies smile approximately 200 times per day?!
- The human body produces enough saliva in a lifetime to fill a swimming pool!
- All of your teeth developed while you were in utero. Between the sixth and eighth week of development your primary (baby) teeth started to form. Permanent (adult) teeth began to form in the twentieth week.
- About 1 in every 2000-3000 babies born are born with teeth.
The next time you are with friends you can impress them with a little dental trivia!
For human teeth to have a healthy oral environment, all parts of the tooth must develop during appropriate stages of fetal development. Primary (baby) teeth start to form between the sixth and eighth week of prenatal development, and permanent teeth begin to form in the twentieth week