Are teeth bones?

An odd question; are teeth bones?

Whilst your teeth and your bones may share some similarities, most notably in both being made of strong materials and sharing the same colour, they are not the same. Teeth are not made from bone.

Bones are in a consistent cycle of being rebuilt and remade throughout your life. It is for this reason, that if you break a bone, it will heal over time. This is due to the cells that make up the bone and help regenerate it when there is breakage. This is helped by the bone marrow in your bones, something which is absent in teeth.

Conversely, teeth do not have such properties and are not a tissue which repairs itself. As a result, when your tooth breaks it does not heal itself in the way bones do. Additionally, a tooth is made up of four key properties: dentinThe part of the tooth that is beneath the enamel and cementum., cementum, pulpConnective tissue containing blood vessels and nerve tissue which occupies the pulp cavity of a tooth. and enamelHard calcified tissue covering dentin of the crown of tooth.. Enamel is the strongest part of the body and can withstand a great deal of pressure, which helps hugely with eating and the daily wear and tear inflicted on it.

Simply put, damaged bones can repair themselves and mend after breaks whereas teeth require dental intervention to fix a chip and cracks. It is for this reason that it is so important to regularly take care of your teeth and practise excellent oral hygiene through good dental routines.

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