Fun and Unique Dental Facts
Contemplating a visit to the dentist may not be your first choice, but caring for your teeth is essential to good overall dental health. Plus, general dentist in Newberg OR Dr. Jennifer McLeod and her team at Newberg Family Dental believe that a visit to their office doesn’t have to be drudgery! These fun and unique dental facts prove that taking care of your teeth can be interesting and fun.
1. Shut Down the Bacteria Party
It might be surprising, but it’s important to know that there are more bacteria partying in your mouth than there are people on earth. And unlike people, these bacteria are slowly and certainly destroying your teeth! There are up to 300 different kinds of bacteria in your mouth, but they can be eradicated in the same way. Shut down their party time by brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day for a healthy smile.
2. Take a Tongue Print
It’s a well-known fact that everyone has unique sets of fingerprints, but what you may not realize is the same goes for your tongue and teeth. Like a fingerprint, a tongue print is a special signature that applies only to you. Although it would be significantly messier to take tongue prints instead of fingerprints!
3. Pizza Can Cause a Dangerous Medical Condition
It’s pretty common to burn your tongue on a hot beverage, but what about the roof of your mouth? It turns out this is also a common occurrence caused by hot mozzarella on delicious slices of pizza. It’s has become so commonplace for people to burn the roof of their mouths on pizza that there is a medical term for it called “Pizza Palate.”
4. Left-Chewer or Right-Chewer?
Did you know that there’s a particular side of your mouth that you use more than the other? Studies have shown that this tendency is linked to whether you are left or right handed. People who are left handed use the left sides of their mouths to chew while right handed people use, you guessed, the right sides of their mouths!
5. What’s Your Favorite Color?
When you’re finished with your dental exam and regular teeth cleaning at our dental office in Newberg, Oregon, we often give you a choice of the kind and color of toothbrush you take home with you for at-home dental care. Studies have shown that overall, patients choose the blue toothbrushes over the red ones when given the choice between the two. As long as you use them at home, we have no preference when it comes to what color toothbrush you use!