Why do human teeth need maintenance while animals don't?

Why do human teeth need maintenance while animals don't?

Published By: Thinking Boxx Team

That was the turning point that is atleast well documented. There are stories that narrates how the medivial people lived and cared about their oral health, and they all point back to lesser prevalence of oral diseases among those population.

As long as we keep on consuming refined sugars such as sucrose, fructose, lactose etc., caring for our teeth is the ultimate goal that will keep our teeth safe from harmful bacteria that ferments those sugars lowering the pH and subjecting our teeth to deminiralization that might cause dental caries.

The wonders fluoride played provide us with an evidence since its role in preventing caries lies on the disruption of acidic dissolution potential of the fermentation process caused by cariogenic bacteria.

On the other hand, animals have kept their diet fairly constant throughout a long period of time.

Another reason is, most animals have long periods of intermittent fasting. That implies the cariogenic effect of bacteria in their foods is minimised. Unlike in humans where eating and snacking are prime to a typical day.

All great answers but I felt a pressing urge to retaliate this one more time.

The kinds of foods we consume that are potentially detrimental to our teeth, are way way different from what most animals do.

Going back through history, oral diseases (dental caries and periodontal diseases) trends reflected the changes that occurred in the types of foods humans consumed. Industrialisation caused more and more refined foods to emerge to Carter for the rising demands across the Europe and the rest of the world.

Humans live a lot longer, on average, than other mammals, so ideally we want our teeth to last longer. Natural life expectancies of some other mammals (not useful life expectancy or factoring in slaughter) are 20 years for dairy cows,[1] 25–30 years for horses,[2] and only 2–3 years for deer (factoring in predation, I think; 10 years is extreme and 20 years is maximum).[3]

The teeth of other animals do wear down and get to be in pretty poor shape. Dental wear is a common direct or indirect cause of death, and a limitation on lifespan, in mammals like deer and goats that live to old age[4]—their teeth get so worn down they can’t eat efficiently enough to keep themselves alive, so the animal weakens and wastes away, falling more and more vulnerable to predators if not dying outright from nutritional deficiency. I recall an exhibit in New Mexico attributing the limited lifespan of Native Americans in significant part to dental wear and inability to adequately nourish oneself. Not counting their high infant mortality, the typical life expectancy of the Pueblo Indians was only about 35 years.[5]

Coarse diet, bad teeth, short lives. Photo from source [5]
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Teeth of an old horse[6]

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Teeth of an old cow[7]

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Teeth of a very old (19 yr) white-tailed deer[8]

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Teeth of an old geezer

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Footnotes

[1] Review: Overview of factors affecting productive lifespan of dairy cows | animal | Cambridge Core

[2] How Long Do Horses Live

[3] Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer)

[4] Wear Fast, Die Young: More Worn Teeth and Shorter Lives in Iberian Compared to Scottish Red Deer

[5] Ancestral Pueblo People - Vital Statistics - Bandelier National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

[6] Texas Equine Dentistry Blog -

[7] Macro Photo Old Cow Teeth Stock Photo (Edit Now) 1050061871

[8] How to Age Michigan Deer