How Panda Teeth Could Positively Impact the Future of Dentures

Who doesn’t love panda bears? These fluffy black-and-white creatures, native to China, are a zoo favorite. Turns out pandas aren’t just adorable, but their teeth hold groundbreaking benefits for human dental care. Read on to learn more about panda teeth, and how they could impact the future of dentures.

Pandas Have Self-Healing Teeth

Unlike us humans, pandas have teeth that are actually able to regenerate. Human teeth can heal, with the help of the calcium and phosphate contained in our saliva, but only to a certain extent. If you break or chip a tooth, it’s not growing back. With panda bears, however, the enamel is able to regenerate, making up for any damage and wear that comes as a result of their diet–20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day!

What This Means for Humans

Scientists at Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Metal Research who made this discovery are hoping that the strength of panda teeth can be harnessed and used to our benefit. The idea is to use the material in the animal’s tooth enamel, hydroxyapatite, and use if to make dentures and dental ceramics, creating a top-of-the-line, much improved solution.

In Other Panda News…

Since panda’s are irresistibly cute, we’ll leave you with a few more panda facts. Not only are panda’s teeth able to regenerate, they are nice and big, allowing, with the help of a very strong jaw, the bear to crush its food. Pandas spend up to 14 hours harvesting and consuming bamboo daily. And it’s not just their teeth worth talking about, panda’s throats actually have a special coating that protects them from bamboo shards and splinters as they chew away at the tough and fibrous plant. Panda’s are off the endangered list now, so there’s hope that they’ll be around to share their delightful fuzziness, and their potentially game-changing dental benefits, for years to come.

Great Care At Dental Solutions of Avon

Unfortunately, your teeth can’t regenerate like pandas’ do. Luckily, modern dentistry has your back. Contact us to make sure your next exam is scheduled.