February 5, 2025 at 3:49 pm

Why Animals Keep Their Teeth Despite Not Owning A Toothbrush

by Trisha Leigh

Source: Peter Kertesz - ZOODENT International

I’ve never met anyone who actually loves brushing their teeth, or scheduling those bi-annual trips to the dentist.

We do it because we have to, and like your mother told you, you only get one set of teeth, so you’d better take care of them!

You never see animals worry about their dental health, though, so why do they all seem to manage just fine?

Peter Kertesz is a dentists to both humans and the animals at the ZSL London Zoo (among others), so he’s got the creds to be able to answer a few questions on the matter.

Source: Peter Kertesz - ZOODENT International

He has seen just about every animal you can think of, and cleaned and maintained all of their very different teeth in the process. And though animals and humans are about as likely to experience dental trauma in their lifespan, decay is something that’s far more common in people.

“It’s fairly rare because their diets are relatively natural, certainly in Europe. They don’t have refined carbohydrates. They usually have a self-cleansing diet. In North America it’s a bit different. They get a lot of processed food, but trauma is still the biggest problem.”

Surprisingly, brushing can’t really stop decay if our diets don’t change.

“Brushing doesn’t stop decay. Diet will, and don’t forget, we are on an unnatural diet that’s very often, heavy on refined carbohydrates, and that is going to cause the decay. If you’re going to stop the decay, you’re going to have to change the diet.”

Processed food are so rampant in our society that brushing just keeps decay at bay, and regular checkups and cleanings can help prevent any larger problems before they start.

Source: Peter Kertesz - ZOODENT International

Here’s your reminder that you don’t want to neglect those.

“The mouth is the gateway to the body, and the damaged or diseased unhealthy mouth can have major repercussions to the major organs.”

Brushy brushy, y’all.

It might be annoying and boring, but unless you plan to revert to a totally natural diet, it’s necessary.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.