What Teeth Are Made of, and Why You Should Care

Improving your dental health is a primary goal of our dental experts at Dentistry in Streetsville in Mississauga. Educating dental patients is a part of that process, and sharing information on everything from proper oral hygiene techniques to available dental services is an ongoing mission. Knowing more about your teeth and what they are made of is the first step in knowing how to properly take care of them.

Most people don’t realize that the enamel on your teeth is the hardest part of the human body, even harder than bones. Both bones and enamel have similar organic makeup. However, a bone is porous because blood vessels have to pass through it, helping to give the skeletal structure the necessary flexibility to absorb shock and stress. Enamel in your teeth has no blood supply. A big difference between teeth and bones is how they heal inside your body. Break a bone, and your body begins to build new bone tissue right away. However, broken teeth don’t have the ability to heal. Since teeth do not contain any living tissue, you have to book a dental appointment to have us fix the broken tooth. Similarly, if you wind up with a cavity, your tooth can’t grow new enamel to fill the decay. That’s another trip to our office as well.

Rather than being composed of living tissue, teeth are made up of these four things: pulp, dentin, enamel and cementum. The pulp is the innermost portion of the tooth and consists of connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels that work to nourish the tooth. The tooth’s dentin tissue is covered in the enamel, which is made primarily from extremely hard calcium phosphate, known as hydroxyapatite. This is the shiny surface you brush when cleaning the outer surface of your teeth. Teeth grow slowly, with 13 being the typical age by which most kids have lost their baby teeth and grown their full set of permanent teeth.

Seeking out expert dental care in Streetsville is important for anyone wanting to ensure their teeth get the benefit of proper dental maintenance. Visit us at Dentistry in Streetsville at 100 Queen Street South, Suite 101, in Mississauga, and discover more about our dental services. Call 905-821-8221 or visit our website at www.dentistryinstreetsville.com. Also, visit us on Facebook and Instagram at DentistryInStreetsville.