It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year again— Discovery Channel’s Shark Week! Test your friend’s knowledge with this sharkographic full of razor sharp toothy facts.
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Can’t wait for Shark Week to start? Us either! Here’s a sneak preview of the 2018 Shark Week series:
Sharks can lose over 50 teeth every year!
A shark can go through over 20,000 teeth in its life!
Shark teeth grow back within a day!
The Bull shark has up to 50 rows of razor sharp teeth!
Sharks never run out of teeth-they run on a “conveyor belt” that constantly generates new teeth.
Newborn sharks are born with their teeth and hunt for themselves from day one!
Sharks can have up to 3,000 teeth at one time!
Sharks never get cavities, their enamel is made in large part from fluoride, making them practically cavity proof!
You have almost 3 times the chance of getting struck by lightning than getting bitten by a shark.
Shark teeth are the same hardness and density as humans’ but they don’t have roots. Both have central pulp cavity with layer of dentine and hard enamel on the outside.
Did you know that both the upper and lower jaws move? This makes it easier for the shark to tear meat from its prey.
Sharks don’t chew—they rip off chunks of meat and swallow them whole!
Did you know you can estimate the size of the shark based on the length of the tooth? Measure one side of the tooth in inches and multiply by 10 for the total size of the shark in feet, cool!
The Megalodon lived about 2 million years ago and looked a lot like a modern day Great White Shark, except up to 3x larger! They grew up to 60 feet in length and one of their teeth could weigh a pound!
Thanks to the fossilization of shark teeth, we have records of sharks dating back 400 million years!
Teeth are the only preserved parts of ancient sharks because their skeletons are cartilage!
The small cookie cutter shark can replace an entire row of teeth at one time! They take single scoop-like bites out of their prey and then swim away, they even bite Great White Sharks and whales!
What was your favorite shark tooth fact? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thank you for stopping by the Dr. Dental blog!
