Some of my favorite activities (eating, kissing, singing, etc.) involve my mouth. So today, I thought it would be fun to explore some fun and exciting facts about the flavor chamber.

1. Actor Cary Grant, who is widely considered to be one of the most handsome leading men in Hollywood history, only had one upper central incisor. With the upper two front teeth being the star of the smile, it's pretty wild that more people never noticed that he was missing one of his.
2. Americans buy 14 million gallons of toothpaste every year.
3. Teeth are the only body part that can't repair itself. At age six you start getting adult teeth that need to last you the rest of your life, so make sure that you are brushing and flossing twice a day, every day of your life. You don't get another set of chompers.
4. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies. If well taken care of, this enamel is strong enough to withstand the 160 PSI of force that our jaw produces every day of our lives for 90+ years.
5. There are roughly 700 microorganisms living in our mouths. These include bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. 
6. Although dentists have always recommended brushing your teeth for two minutes, a recent study found that people actually only brush for an average of 48 seconds.
7. Tom Cruise's upper teeth are so out of position that one of his upper front two teeth is on the centerline of his face rather than having the space between his two front teeth be on the centerline. 
8. 75% of Americans have some form of gum disease which ranges from mild cases of gingivitis to advanced cases of periodontal disease. While that is a daunting statistic, the good news is that most forms of gum disease are either preventable or treatable.
9. John Lennon once presented one of his extracted molars to his housekeeper, who kept it in her family until 2011, when the tooth was sold at auction for $31,200. The Canadian dentist who bought the tooth plans to use the DNA in the tooth to try and clone John Lennon someday.
10. A snail's mouth is roughly the size of a pinhead but can have up to 25,000 teeth.
11. Americans perceive a person with straight teeth to be 58% more likely to be successful than someone with crooked teeth.
12. It takes 43 muscles to frown, but it only requires 17 muscles to smile.
13. The painting "American Gothic" depicts a farmer holding a pitchfork and standing next to his daughter. The male model for the painting was the artist's dentist.
14. The human tongue is as unique as a fingerprint. No two peoples' tongue prints are the same.
15. Sports-related injuries account for 5 million missing teeth every year.
16. Americans spend $2 billion on dental care products per year, compared to $100 billion on hair care products.
17. George Washington's famous dentures were not actually made of wood. They were created using a combination of gold, ivory, lead, and a mixture of human, donkey, and hippo teeth.
18. Contrary to popular belief, when you floss using the same stretch of floss for multiple teeth, you're not actually moving the bacteria from one tooth to the next. The mouth is like a petri dish. The same bacteria between the teeth on your upper right are already between the teeth on your lower left. The goal of flossing is the same as brushing; to mechanically disrupt the biofilm that harbors harmful bacteria. So, just like you only use one toothbrush for your whole mouth, it's ok to use the same stretch of floss for your entire mouth.
19. The average person spends a total of 38 days brushing their teeth in their lifetime.
20. Daily flossing can extend your life by an average of 6 years due to the prevention of infection and heart attacks.
21. Taste buds have an average lifespan of 10 days and take between 1 to 2 weeks to regenerate.
22. Tooth decay is the second most common disease, behind only the common cold.
23. It is better for the health of your teeth and gums to brush with a soft bristle brush with less pressure for a longer period of time than it is to brush with a medium or hard bristle brush with heavy pressure for a shorter amount of time.

Hopefully, this has been a fun and helpful exercise to help you understand your mouth a little better. Happy flossing!