Teeth | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/teeth/RSS feed for TeethenFri, 15 May 2026 13:34:41 +0000Neanderthals Got Cavities, Too—and New Research Suggests They Drilled Into Their Teeth to Treat Them, Just Like Modern Dentistshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neanderthals-got-cavities-too-and-new-research-suggests-they-drilled-into-their-teeth-to-treat-them-just-like-modern-dentists-180988746/Researchers unearthed a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar that shows signs of dental surgery, a discovery that pushes back the earliest evidence of dental work by roughly 45,000 yearsFri, 15 May 2026 13:34:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neanderthals-got-cavities-too-and-new-research-suggests-they-drilled-into-their-teeth-to-treat-them-just-like-modern-dentists-180988746/Why Did This Wealthy Scotsman Pay a Jeweler to Wrap His Teeth in Gold Wire Hundreds of Years Ago?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-this-wealthy-scotsman-pay-a-jeweler-to-wrap-his-teeth-in-gold-wire-hundreds-of-years-ago-180988709/What an early example of a dental bridge reveals about health, wealth and social values in the late medieval and early modern worldFri, 08 May 2026 21:32:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-this-wealthy-scotsman-pay-a-jeweler-to-wrap-his-teeth-in-gold-wire-hundreds-of-years-ago-180988709/Rodents Don't Gnaw Just to Trim Their Teeth—It Also Feels Good, According to a New Studyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rodents-dont-gnaw-just-to-trim-their-teeth-it-also-feels-good-according-to-a-new-study-180988372/The findings could help humans who grind their teeth or clench their jawsThu, 19 Mar 2026 15:35:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rodents-dont-gnaw-just-to-trim-their-teeth-it-also-feels-good-according-to-a-new-study-180988372/This Giant Carnivore Ran on Hooves. Scientists Are Investigating Its Massive Skull and Crushing Teeth to Decipher the Beast's True Naturehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-giant-carnivore-ran-on-hooves-scientists-are-investigating-its-massive-skull-and-crushing-teeth-to-decipher-the-beasts-true-nature-180988212/For more than a century, paleontologists have been piecing together how the mysterious predator Andrewsarchus is related to other mammals, like the extinct “hell pigs” and “wolves with hooves”Thu, 19 Feb 2026 18:37:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-giant-carnivore-ran-on-hooves-scientists-are-investigating-its-massive-skull-and-crushing-teeth-to-decipher-the-beasts-true-nature-180988212/A Football-Size Creature That Lived 307 Million Years Ago May Have Been One of the First Land Vertebrates to Eat Plantshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-football-sized-creature-that-lived-307-million-years-ago-may-have-been-one-of-the-first-land-vertebrates-to-eat-plants-180988192/"Hebert's tyrant digger" had teeth built for grinding tough veggies, a new study suggestsThu, 12 Feb 2026 20:52:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-football-sized-creature-that-lived-307-million-years-ago-may-have-been-one-of-the-first-land-vertebrates-to-eat-plants-180988192/Megalodons Went Extinct Millions of Years Ago. The Prehistoric Predator Could Become Maryland's Official State Sharkhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/megalodons-went-extinct-millions-of-years-ago-the-prehistoric-predator-could-become-marylands-official-state-shark-180988108/Teeth belonging to the fearsome creatures have been discovered throughout the state. Now, they're up for consideration by the state legislatureMon, 02 Feb 2026 19:12:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/megalodons-went-extinct-millions-of-years-ago-the-prehistoric-predator-could-become-marylands-official-state-shark-180988108/Sharklike Fish With Weird, Buzz-Saw Jaws Sliced Through the Seas, Then Vanished. Now, Paleontologists Are Unraveling Their Secretshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sharklike-fish-with-weird-buzz-saw-jaws-sliced-through-the-seas-then-vanished-now-paleontologists-are-unraveling-their-secrets-180987960/These "total monsters of fishes" are extinct today, though new clues about their lives come from CT scans and their closest living relatives: the big-eyed ratfish of the deep seaFri, 09 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sharklike-fish-with-weird-buzz-saw-jaws-sliced-through-the-seas-then-vanished-now-paleontologists-are-unraveling-their-secrets-180987960/The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitorhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-ten-most-significant-science-stories-of-2025-from-medical-breakthroughs-to-an-interstellar-visitor-180987905/All year long, these moments captivated the public, demonstrated dangerous trends, and pushed research and innovation forwardFri, 19 Dec 2025 17:56:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-ten-most-significant-science-stories-of-2025-from-medical-breakthroughs-to-an-interstellar-visitor-180987905/Our Human Ancestors Were Exposed to Lead, and New Research Suggests It May Have Shaped Human Evolutionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/our-human-ancestors-were-exposed-to-lead-and-it-may-have-shaped-human-evolution-180987526/Lead exposure may have spelled evolutionary success for humans—and extinction for our ancient cousins—but other scientists are casting doubt on the headline-making studyFri, 17 Oct 2025 13:37:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/our-human-ancestors-were-exposed-to-lead-and-it-may-have-shaped-human-evolution-180987526/This Deep-Sea Fish Has Teeth on Its Forehead—and It Uses Them for Sexhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-deep-sea-fish-has-teeth-on-its-forehead-and-it-uses-them-for-sex-180987300/Researchers suggest the rows of pointed structures on the heads of spotted ratfish are true teeth, offering the first known example of teeth located outside the jawWed, 10 Sep 2025 17:26:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-deep-sea-fish-has-teeth-on-its-forehead-and-it-uses-them-for-sex-180987300/