Tooth Tip Tuesday

Elephant teeth

Now that we know why we have wisdom teeth.  See previous blog about previous use of our 3rd molars.  How is the wisdom teeth example like elephants?

Elephants have a better example of that conveyor belt of teeth as explained before.  Tusks are their incisors or anterior teeth.  Elephants usually have 8 teeth in their mouth at one time.  There are 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. 

Baby elephants start with a smaller 1st molar and a 2nd.  Elephants chew in a front to back motion rather than a side to side one like cows.  So the very front of the anterior molar does the hard work and eventually chips.  Then the back tooth pushes forward.  Just like a conveyor belt.  They have 6 sets of these teeth pushing forward as one gradually chips off.  They also get progressively bigger.  The last one is about 8in x 3in (21cm x 7cm) and weighs 8 lbs (4 kgs).   Looks like a brick.

So this conveyor progression continues with the last tooth.  The last one wears away around 60 years old in certain species.  Sorry, no dentists to make dentures for the old elephants.  And there tends to be a lack of applesauce and yogurt in the wild.  Older elephants migrate to marshy and swampy areas because the food is softer and easier to eat.  These elephants then die of malnutrition and starvation.  The places where they die have been given the term "elephant graveyard".  And it's due to their teeth or lack thereof.