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Teeth

This animal hair toothbrush (horse hair, to be exact) is said to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.

You Can Still Buy Pig-Hair Toothbrushes

There’s an argument for it, given all the environmental destruction causes by plastic ones

A Great White Can Go Through 20,000 Teeth in Its Lifetime

While a great white shark’s 300 serrated teeth are an amazing hunting adaptation, what’s even more amazing is their replaceability

"Painless Parker" wore a necklace of teeth to lure in achy victims.

A Brief History of America’s Most Outrageous Dentist

Painless Parker and his dental circus live on in a Philadelphia museum

Erich Fitzgerald and Tim Ziegler with a 3D model of Alfred's skull.

New Research

The Earliest Baleen Whales Literally Sucked

No offense to toothy whale ancestors

Suspected 1665 Great Plague pit unearthed at Crossrail Liverpool Street site

DNA from 17th-Century Teeth Confirms Cause of London’s Great Plague

Skeletons excavated from a mass grave during London’s Crossrail project yield new clues about the ancient mystery

Why Do Humans Have Canine Teeth and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

This 3D printed tooth could kill germs in your mouth

These 3D Printed Teeth Fight Bacteria

Researchers in the Netherlands are making dental implants that kill microbes that settle on them

Cool Finds

These Magic Toothbrushes Work Without Toothpaste

A new brush—and an old one, too—that don’t rely on possibly harmful pastes to make your smile shine

New Research

How the Sugar Industry Influenced Dental Research

Newly uncovered “sugar papers” reveal that the sugar lobby played a major role in 1970s dental public health policies

George Washington's only complete set of dentures, made out of lead, human teeth, cow teeth and elephant ivory.  

Cool Finds

George Washington Didn’t Have Wooden Teeth—They Were Ivory

Washington’s teeth were made of a lot of things, but not wood

The skeleton of a young man, whose tooth plaque was used in the study.

New Research

Ancient Tooth Plaque Shows Our Ancestors Used to Feast on Weeds

Purple nutsedge is a pest today, but thousands of years ago it was probably valued for its cavity-preventing properties

Is this the face of a cold-blooded man-eater?

14 Fun Facts About Piranhas

They’re not cute and cuddly, but they may be misunderstood, and scientists are rewriting the fish’s fearsome stereotype

A study, conducted by researchers in Berlin, shows that those who suck on a mint containing a particular type of bacteria actually reduce the levels of cavity-causing bacteria in their saliva.

Is Candy That Fights Cavities Too Good To Be True?

Researchers in Berlin find that sweets containing a special probiotic may help you avoid the dentist’s chair

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