Of course, that’s a little easier said than done.  Some days it seems like kids will never accept their brushing responsibilities without a fight. To get kids interested in their dental hygiene, try sharing a little tooth trivia with them while they brush.


The first president of the US, George Washington, had false teeth after the deterioration in his real teeth forced dentists to remove them.  Washington was notoriously picky about his false teeth, and he had nine different dentists attempt to make him dentures that were comfortable enough for him to wear. One dentist succeeded but constructing a set of false teeth out of the teeth from a cow, hippopotamus, and walrus.  This same dentist made him four sets of dentures, one of which he is buried with.


An elephant has two upper molars and two lower molars that measure one foot across and weigh about 9lbs.  Because elephants grind their food instead of chewing it, their teeth are worn down to the gum line and eventually fall out.  After all, they do grind at least 100lbs of vegetation each day. Eventually, their new teeth will appear.  An elephant may go through six sets of teeth in its lifetime.




Even toothpaste has had a facelift in recent years.  Previously, people used ashes, chalk, charcoal, honey, and lemon juice as a cleaner for their teeth.  Some people even resorted to rough materials, such as crushed egg shells and parts of animal hooves.  Thankfully, the minty cream we used today was invented in the beginning of the 20th century.


Today if you had a toothache, you’d pick up some Orajel and then seek out a dentist appointment.  Long ago, you’d be seeking out a donkey.  Germans believed that if you kissed a donkey, your toothache would go away.  Ancient Chinese people would write on parchment paper and then wrap the tooth in it.  Others believed that a worm had gotten in their teeth and there was nothing they could do about it.