Humans can’t grow new teeth. But we’re not alone. Most mammals can’t. But many reptiles and fish can grow hundreds, or even thousands of new teeth in a lifetime. The reason has to do with how reptiles and mammals evolved differently over 300 million years ago.
Following is a transcript of the video:
Humans need dentists. It’s a fact. In 2017 alone, Americans spent $124 billion on dental visits. And an estimated 90% of adults in the US have fillings.
But many animals don’t have this problem. Because they can regrow their teeth replacing old, damaged ones with brand new pearly whites.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could do that? Well, there’s actually an important trade off for this nuisance.
Only a handful of mammals can regrow teeth multiple times, compared to the 50,000 species of reptiles and fish. Take geckos, for example, who will replace all 100 teeth, or so, every 3 to 4 months. And since geckos can live for 6 to 10 years, they’ll grow anywhere from 1,800 to 4,000 teeth in a lifetime! It’s all thanks to a special type of cell in their gums, called stem cells.
Stem cells are handy because they can morph into different cells when needed. Like tooth stem cells to build new teeth. Humans have these stem cells when we’re younger. But after our adult teeth grow in, the stem cells die and disappear.
To understand why, let’s take a journey back in time. To about 320 million years ago, when mammals and reptiles split off. In addition to the many obvious differences another change that eventually emerged was tooth shape. Reptiles, for example, are what’s called generalists. Meaning they eat the animals they can get their teeth on. And for that, they needed teeth with the same size and shape, to keep prey from escaping their mouths. Mammals, on the other hand, developed more specific diets. Like grazers who only eat grass and hunters who rip flesh from their kills. As a result, mammals evolved different shaped teeth for different purposes. And it’s this difference, that could also explain why most mammals can’t regrow more teeth.
Now, let’s say you could regrow your molars multiple times, for example. It’s important that the top and bottoms sets match up. Otherwise, they can’t grind up food as efficiently. It sounds good in principle, but with each new set, there’s a risk that the regrown teeth won’t line up. So the leading theory is that adult humans can’t regrow our teeth because it was better for survival to only grow one, well-aligned adult set.
However, if you still wish you could regrow a tooth, there may be a way in the future. Using lasers and drugs, scientists have helped rats and mice regrow damaged tissue in cavity-ridden teeth. With the idea that if you can regrow tooth tissue, you can eventually regrow entire teeth.
Though no human testing has been done, yet. So continue to see your dentist! At least for the time being.
MORE HEALTH SCIENCE CONTENT:
How Humans Are Trying To Live Forever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_KxrvKkSRcWhy Stubbing Your Toe Hurts So Much
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgdG7gK4eXkThe Dangerous Chemicals In Your Plastic Packages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_6R0fhGtHQ------------------------------------------------------
#Humans #Teeth #ScienceInsider
Science Insider tells you all you need to know about science: space, medicine, biotech, physiology, and more.
Subscribe to our channel and visit us at:
http://www.businessinsider.com/scienceScience Insider on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderScience/Science Insider on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/science_insider/Business Insider on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/businessinsiderTech Insider on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/techinsiderBusiness Insider/Tech Insider on Amazon Prime:
http://read.bi/PrimeVideo------------------------------------------------------
Why Humans Can't Regrow Teeth
About the Site 🌐
This site provides links to random videos hosted at YouTube, with the emphasis on random. 🎥
Origins of the Idea 🌱
The original idea for this site stemmed from the need to benchmark the popularity of a video against the general population of YouTube videos. 🧠
Challenges Faced 🤔
Obtaining a large sample of videos was crucial for accurate ranking, but YouTube lacks a direct method to gather random video IDs.
Even searching for random strings on YouTube doesn't yield truly random results, complicating the process further. 🔍
Creating Truly Random Links 🛠️
The YouTube API offers additional functions enabling the discovery of more random videos. Through inventive techniques and a touch of space-time manipulation, we've achieved a process yielding nearly 100% random links to YouTube videos.
About YouTube 📺
YouTube, an American video-sharing website based in San Bruno, California, offers a diverse range of user-generated and corporate media content. 🌟
Content and Users 🎵
Users can upload, view, rate, share, and comment on videos, with content spanning video clips, music videos, live streams, and more.
While most content is uploaded by individuals, media corporations like CBS and the BBC also contribute. Unregistered users can watch videos, while registered users enjoy additional privileges such as uploading unlimited videos and adding comments.
Monetization and Impact 🤑
YouTube and creators earn revenue through Google AdSense, with most videos free to view. Premium channels and subscription services like YouTube Music and YouTube Premium offer ad-free streaming.
As of February 2017, over 400 hours of content were uploaded to YouTube every minute, with the site ranking as the second-most popular globally. By May 2019, this figure exceeded 500 hours per minute. 📈
List of ours generators⚡
Random YouTube Videos Generator
Random Film and Animation Video Generator
Random Autos and Vehicles Video Generator
Random Music Video Generator
Random Pets and Animals Video Generator
Random Sports Video Generator
Random Travel and Events Video Generator
Random Gaming Video Generator
Random People and Blogs Video Generator
Random Comedy Video Generator
Random Entertainment Video Generator
Random News and Politics Video Generator
Random Howto and Style Video Generator
Random Education Video Generator
Random Science and Technology Video Generator
Random Nonprofits and Activism Video Generator