10 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Your Mouth

Sometimes, fun facts can be quite informative. We bet we can give you 10 fun and interesting facts about your mouth that will not only surprise you, but convince you of the importance of scheduling regular biannual checkups with the team at Los Fresnos Dental Center, and of brushing and flossing your teeth at home twice each day.

1. The body’s hardest substance is enamel. Nevertheless, enamel can break when you chew on things like ice, hard nuts and candy, and popcorn kernels. And the trend in tongue and lip piercings have caused a marked increase in the number of chipped or cracked teeth we see in the office.
2. The most frequent cause of tooth loss is gum, or periodontal, disease. You can help prevent gum disease in your mouth with an effective at-home oral hygiene routine and checkups. When you brush and floss, you literally push away the plaque and bacteria that lead to gum disease.
3. Fluoride is good for your teeth, but not too much fluoride. In particular, if young children ingest excessive amounts of fluoride, they can develop fluorosis, a condition that leaves chalky white or brown spots on their teeth. Make sure your children don’t swallow toothpaste when they brush, and if they’re not old enough to spit, then stick to fluoride-free toothpaste until they can.
4. Kissing can actually benefit your oral health! When kissing, saliva production increases in the mouth helping wash away plaque and other bacteria.
5. There are over 600 different kinds of bacteria in your mouth and just one milliliter of saliva contains one million bacteria. Moral of this story: brush your teeth, gums and tongue to remove harmful bacteria.
6. Cleaning your tongue with a tongue scraper or your toothbrush helps to prevent heart disease, pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses, premature births, diabetes, osteoporosis and impotence.
7. Tooth decay happens as a result of sour foods just as much as sweet foods. Acidic foods that are also low in pH—sour candies, soda, fruit juice—actually soften your teeth and make them more susceptible to decay. If you do eat highly acidic foods, then have them during a meal with other foods, which can minimize the erosive effects of acid.
8. Candy is easier on your teeth than raisins. With Halloween just around the corner, it pays to know which snacks are better and which are worse for your dental health. Pass on the ones that get stuck in your teeth—like raisins—and go for the ones that quickly melt, like chocolate!
9. Your teeth are like icebergs in that about one-third of each tooth lies below the gum line. That’s one of the reasons why maintaining healthy gums is so important.
10. Your teeth are unique. Like your fingerprints, your teeth are yours and only yours. Even if you have an identical twin, your teeth are not alike. So, take care of your teeth and your teeth will take care of you.

Call Our Office Today

To schedule an appointment with a dentist in Los Fresnos, call our office today at (956) 233-0569. Our Los Fresnos dental office welcomes patients from surrounding areas Del Mar Heights, Los Cuates, Rancho Viejo, Laureles, and beyond.