Questions tagged [teeth]
Hard projections in the mouths of vertebrates used mainly to mechanically digest food. Teeth can also be used for the purposes of defense or obtaining meals, especially in the case of hunting.
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What are the common dental traits of fungivorous mammals? [closed]
What are the dental adaptations for eating mushrooms that are commonly found amongst fungivorous mammals?
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How difficult is it to determine species by a single tooth?
I saw a U-Haul truck with a sign about the Gray Fossil site in Tennessee. The U-Haul specifically mentioned a red panda being found at the site, so I googled "gray fossil site red panda". ...
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Can distilled / deionized / demineralized water "attack" teeth?
Demineralized water is claimed by some resources to be highly aggressive (due to their lack of minerals) and to attack all sorts of materials. From the World Health Organization website:
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What evolutionary advantage do separate teeth have compared to a single piece of bone? [duplicate]
Humans and many animals have multiple teeth consisting of separate pieces of bone embedded in the jaw. For humans, this arrangement has some disadvantages:
teeth are quite fragile when impacted and ...
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Does human DNA code for enamel multiple times?
Given that DNA provides instructions for multiple parts of the body as a general representation, how is that about the number of teeth with regards to the enamel code?
there are 32 teeth but they are ...
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To which ungulate species does this tooth remainder belong?
Found on the beach in Çanakkale, Turkey.
I have found a lot of these, but this is the first one that has parts like long teeth. My other findings have sometimes 4, sometimes 6 tubes. Very solid, ...
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How can tooth enamel feel pain when drilled by a dentist?
Enamel has no nerves, so theoretically a tooth should not feel any pain when a dentist bores into it. Yet still we use anesthetics...
Maybe it’s dentin's fault? It apparently has some tubes filled ...
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How quicky does dental pH change after eating?
I would like to know how quickly after eating I can expect the pH do change in my mouth, and how quickly this will cause dental damage.
Obviously any answer to this will have plenty of caveats (diet, ...
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What are the upper and lower sets of teeth are called?
I'd like to know the correct term for the a group of teeth in the skull and jax (mandible) Not the specific types of teeth i.e molars, incisors, carnassials, canines etc but what a set of teeth get ...
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Can it always be determined if an animal is a carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore by its teeth or are there exceptions?
Take the panda, for instance, it has canines but it's an herbivore. However, are there are other aspects of its teeth where one could still tell that it's an herbivore? Do the teeth always relay the ...
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How was it discovered that flouride helps stop tooth decay?
Apparently flourinated water helps stop tooth decay. So I have some quesions about this.
Firstly how does it stop tooth deacy?
and
Secondly, how was it found that out of all the chemicals, it is ...
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Does eating hard food really cause wisdom teeth to erupt properly?
According to the article Bad molars? The origins of wisdom teeth, in our evolutionary history, people were eating harder food like nuts and had unimpacted wisdom teeth. Later, that article appears to ...
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Small mammal identification
Small skull found in Alberta, Canada. Do not know the region. Skull is about 17 mm in length. Trying to identify the species, narrowed it down to most like a species of vole but can't figure out which ...
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What are the teeth of the viperfish composed of?
One of the viperfish's (genus Chauliodus) most unique traits is the transparent, needle-like teeth. Some other abyssopelagic fish (e.g. certain angler fish) have similar teeth. I'm curious as to what ...
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Why do we have nerves in our teeth?
Toothache is a useful signal to us as we can visit the dentist who can try to fix any problems with our teeth. But what is the natural biological role of toothache? Does toothache make animals take ...
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How many teeth can "African wild dogs" have?
The New York Times article In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal discusses reintroduction of what the article calls only "African wild dogs" into Gorongosa National Park in ...
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Is plaque formed even if you do not eat anything?
Some people report that their gum and dental health improves when they are fasting. Many forums contain crazy amounts of misinformation and claims which are unsupported by serious scientific research, ...
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Have Polyphyodonts ever evolved from Diphyodonts?
The Wikipedia article for polyphyodont says this:
Although most extant mammals are not polyphyodont, mammalian ancestors were. During the evolution of Therapsida, there was a period during which ...
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Are humans the only species to suffer from impacted teeth?
Many humans need their third molars (wisdom teeth) removed due to tooth impaction. Are humans the only species to suffer from this?
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What is it called when an animal only has one type/variation of dentition?
An example would be alligators that only have one type/shape of tooth. Not the variation in function and shape like seen in humans, which have canines, molars, incisors, etc
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Carbohydrate diet and dental health
I read that human started carbohydrates rich diet after adopting agriculture before that meat was main energy source which has comparatively less carbohydrate. High carbohydrate started destroying ...
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If animals aren't getting tooth decay because they don't eat processed foods, could similar work for humans?
In previous question here on stackexchange biology I read that animals don't get dental caries because they aren't exposed to refined carbohydrates like sugars. My question is: in theory, could a ...
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Why do bacteria eat enamel?
What causes tooth decay bacteria or acids?
I've been told that it is a combination of both but why would bacteria eat enamel? There are much easier supplies of protein for bacteria to munch through (...
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I found this strange tooth in Galveston, Texas. What does it belong to?
I found this on May 7, 2017, on Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston, Texas. What's not visible are the treelike rings inside the tooth and what looks like a tiny interior porous center. It looks like it ...
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Why can't we grow more teeth?
A similar question but about teeth healing themselves is Do teeth have the capacity to heal?.
So I understand that teeth have the capacity to heal themselves to a certain degree. It appears to be ...
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Why are deciduous teeth shed? [duplicate]
Why do we have two sets of teeth? Why do earlier shed and new teeth replace them? In humans, kids do not have any need for replacement of the teeth. Why don't the milk teeth grow themselves? Or why ...
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Is Fluoride really that good for tooth enamel? [closed]
Recently, I started to pay more attention to my teeth because of the high number of tooth decays, and I'm trying to understand different concepts and biological functions of the teeth and bone. By ...
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Does xylitol kill all kinds of bacteria?
Xylitol is known as a bad bacteria killer in human's mouth.
But I am curious about one thing.
Does xylitol kill all kinds of bacteria regardless of good or bad?
If so, Does xylitol kill bad bacteria ...
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After doing brush I feel hungry? [closed]
Why I feel hungry after brushing my teeth in morning?
I usually have my dinner in between 9 to 10 at night and then I sleep at 12. Sometimes I wake up at 6 in morning and then I go to brush my teeth. ...
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Why do teeth ache after fillings?
I had a filling which involved drilling the tooth, but the drilling did not touch the nerve. According to the x-ray taken at the same time, the nerve is in fact some distance from where the filling ...
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Why we have just 2 teeth cycles, primary and secondary not more?
After baby teeth go, secondary teeth grow, is there a scientific reason why they are just 2 sets not more?
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Is there any scientific evidence that a human has ever grown a third set of teeth?
This is about the possibility (or lack thereof) for a person to re-grow a new "permanent tooth" or set of teeth, to replace the teeth that grew after their milk teeth fell out.
I had earlier seen ...
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Why do humans have irregular teeth and impacting wisdom teeth?
Imagine that horses, dogs, bears, and gorillas had teeth as unreliable as humans do, The interruption in behaviour and stress brought by teeth would cause them to be more prone to sinus infections, ...
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How is the fluoride in toothpaste absorbed?
How is the fluoride in toothpaste absorbed by our body? Does the tooth absorb the molecule directly, or is it absorbed by the mouth?
The answers to this question suggest that some materials can be ...
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Detecting Calcified stones and cracks in tooth
I had a dental problem when my first molar broke some months ago and after some decay and pain I am undergoing a dental treatment. The doctor was performing a root canal and kept on talking about ...
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How does fluoride prevent tooth decay?
Fluoride is a common active ingredient in tooth paste to prevent dental caries. It is also added or removed from the water supply in some communities for the same reason, but in children only.
My ...
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What limits our ability to grow enamel rods?
From what I've understood from what I've read (which might be wrong), enamel rods extend away from the dentin in our teeth. As young people grow, the rods are thickened.
What are the technical ...
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How can fresh cavities form at the margins of sliver amalgam fillings on teeth?
Silver amalgam fillings predominantly contain silver a known bactericidal agent and mercury which a known toxin and has bactericidal property. So how is it that the plaque bacteria survive near the ...
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Why do rodents' teeth continue to grow?
Why do rodents' teeth continue to grow? Enamel formation and/or root formation continue throughout rodents' lives.
What's the mechanism that causes this?
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What is an explanation of the dual role of calcium hydroxide in teeth?
Calcium hydroxide induces dentine formation in permanent teeth, while it causes resorption of tooth in deciduous teeth. How is this dual role explained?
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Why does it hurt when you take sweets, if you have cavities in your teeth?
When you have cavities in your teeth taking any sweetend drinks or food causes sensitivity or pain. What could be the reason?
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What happens to the holes in the skull where teeth were developing?
In Skeptics.SE, a question regarding the skulls of children arose. Depicting a scary skull where the permenent teeth are "hidden" inside the jaws and the milk teeth are in the their place.
After all ...
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Do teeth have the capacity to heal?
Could a cavity in a human tooth "heal over" or possibly fill back in?
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What is the evolutionary reason behind the fragility of teeth?
Almost all organs in the human body have a rather large threshold within which the organ or tissue is capable of repairing itself using materials supplied by the body, whether it's made from organic ...
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Why don't teeth glow?
Hydroxyapatite is the main component of tooth enamel. It contains phosphorus in the form of phosphates, pyrophosphates etc. that are found to exhibit the the property of phosphorescence. But why don't ...
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Why do animal teeth get darker if exposed?
I was wondering why the teeth of cats (And dogs, as far as I know, plus possibly some other animals or even humans) get darker if they are exposed to air / light?
Example:
(See the lower end of the ...
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