8/14/2019 Patient Materials Discover Your Amazing Mouth Aquafresh Science Academy

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Your mouth is amazing and, like a fngerprint, the

pattern o your teeth and the size and shape o

your tongue is unique to YOU.

fu h hHow many? As children we have 20 baby (deciduous) teeth, which start to allout around the age o 6 or 7 to be eventually replaced by 32 permanent teeth.This process takes up to 15 years until your wisdom teeth nally appear(usually between the ages o 17 and 21).

Are teeth alive? Yes. Inside the crown and root is the pulp, in whichcells, nerves and blood vessels are ound.

What are teeth made of? The visible crown is made o hard protectiveenamel. Underneath the enamel is the dentine, which is made up mostlyo minerals and is soter than the enamel. Underneath the dentine is the pulp,which is supplied with nerves and blood. The root is covered by a specialised

calcied substance called cementum.How does enamel protect? Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in thebody. It is physically very strong and resistant to wear.

Why do teeth decay? Tooth decay can occur i plaque is allowed toaccumulate on teeth. The tiny bacteria that live in plaque eed on sugars in ourdiet to orm acids, which attack tooth enamel. As the surace o the enamel issotened, the structure o the tooth below is weakened and a cavity canappear. As this process continues, decay can spread destroying the toothrom the inside out.

Di yu zig uh!

The dierent parts o your mouthwork together to breakdown ood,distinguish tastes, help us to swallowand allow speech. Saliva containswater, enzymes and other substances,

and because it also acts as a lubricatingagent, it plays an important part inthese processes.

Your teeth are dierent shapes andsizes according to the job they doin breaking down ood.

Without a blood supply your teethwould die.

Did yu kw?

Saliva is part o your mouths repairmechanism and it helps toothenamel regain lost minerals, aprocess known as remineralization.Fluoride (e.g. in toothpaste) alsoplays an important role.

crown root pulp bloodvessels enamel dentine

cementum cavity

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8/14/2019 Patient Materials Discover Your Amazing Mouth Aquafresh Science Academy

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Di yu zig uh!

fu guWhat do my gums do? Your gums (gingiva) are ormed o sot skin-like tissueand they cover the bone that supports the teeth. When gums are healthy theyorm a tight seal that limits the places bacteria can hide.

What colour should my gums be? Healthy gums are usually a light or coral

pink but may also contain other pigmentation based on your ethnic origin.Colour change, e.g. increased redness, or swelling may indicate a orm o gumdisease (gingivitis).

What is gingivitis? I your gums become red, infamed and swollen, you mayhave gingivitis, a condition oten reerred to as gum disease, which can alsocause your gums to bleed when you brush your teeth. Gingivitis is normallycaused i plaque is allowed to accumulate on teeth, between teeth and alongthe gum margin. The bacteria in plaque start to release toxins that irritate gumsand cause infammation.

Why do gums recede? I gingivitis is let unchecked, eventually the sealbetween the teeth and gums becomes weak, the attachment at the gum linebreaks down, and the tooth root starts to become exposed.

fu h guWhere are my taste buds? The surace o your tongue is covered in smallbumps called papillae and between the papillae are the taste buds. Othersare ound on the sot palate and back roo o the mouth.

Is tongue cleaning useful? Yes. The tongue has a large surace area andcontains lots o cracks and crevices. These provide a perect place or thebacteria responsible or bad breath to hide and thereore cleaning/scraping thetongues surace helps to remove the bacteria.

I i ip k yu di/dl hygiibu l hygi ui d buhighiqu h i ild yu uh.

Similar to skin, your gums regularlyshed to remove old damaged cells.

Taste buds have an average liespan o710 days and most o us lose hal oour taste buds by the age o 60.

Did yu kw?

There are around 500 species obacteria present in your mouth.

The surace o your tongue is asunique as a fngerprint with crevicesand deep grooves that hide billionso bacteria.

Information provided by the Aquafresh Science Academy

For further information visit:www.AquafreshScienceAcademy.com

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