Share these fun facts about animal teeth with your little ones to get them more excited about their own oral health!
- There are species of snails that can have upwards of 20,000 teeth!
They use their teeth to scrape or cut food. No utensils needed! - An elephant’s tusks are actually teeth! The longest tusk ever recorded was 11 feet. Elephants use their tusks kind of like hands, to maneuver items around, and they tend to be dominant in either their right or left tusk (just like humans are right or left-handed!).
- A narwhal has only two teeth, and one of them grows really long into the unicorn-like tusk. (See the picture above.) This tusk is porous, and is thought to be able to taste the water around them!
- Some animals’ teeth never stop growing. Zebras, beavers, and rodents are just a few. They must constantly gnaw on bark, leaves, and grass to shave down their teeth.
- A rattlesnake’s front teeth inject deadly venom into its prey. When a rattlesnake closes its mouth, these teeth fold up like a pocketknife to protect the inside of its mouth.
- Giraffes have the same number of teeth as humans: 32.
- Mosquitoes have teeth that help them saw into your skin. Ew!
- Sharks don’t get cavities, and their teeth are protected with a layer of fluoride. No need for them to spend money on toothpaste!
- Blue whales, some of the largest and loudest animals on earth, have no teeth! Because they can’t chew their food, they can only eat small prey. Imagine having to swallow all your food whole!
- You can tell the age of a dolphin by counting the numbers of rings on its teeth – just like a tree!
Make sure to share these fascinating animal teeth facts with your kiddos. Maybe it’ll get them more interested in their own dental health!