Are teeth bones? We know teeth are strong and white. Teeth also store calcium like bone. So do this similarity indicate teeth are bone? Let’s check it, and it will wonder to know the truth.
What are bones made of
Majorly, bones are composed of collagen, a protein and mineral calcium phosphate. Collagen gives a soft framework, whereas calcium phosphate makes bone hard and strong. So bone is strong as well as flexible.
Bones are continuously changing because it is a living tissue. Bone goes through regeneration and resorption at the same time. Old bone tissue breaks down to replace the new bone tissue. This is a very important cycle; if anyone part dominates the other, then disorder of bone occurs. For example, if old bone tissues break down, but are not replaced by new tissue, then resorption of bone occurs. The bone becomes porous.
Similarly, suppose there is a defect in breaking down bone. New bone tissue is continuously formed above old bone tissue. In that case, bone disorders also occur, such as in osteopetrosis. So there should be a balance between removal of old bone tissue and replacement by new bone tissue. Only then do our bones remain strong and healthy.
What are teeth made of
Our teeth is an organ that is made of different tissue. The hard tissue of teeth is enamel, dentin and cementum. The soft tissue of teeth is pulp.
The enamel of teeth is the hard outer portion of teeth, mostly made of calcium phosphate. We already said bone is also made of calcium phosphate. But you will be wonder to know enamel is harder than bone. Actually, enamel is the hardest substance in our body. But enamel is not living tissue. It is a big difference with bone as bone is a living tissue.
Now you may ask, what is dentin? Dentin is also a hard tissue of a tooth. It is present under the enamel. When dentin is damaged, the tooth becomes sensitive.
Cementum is also a hard tissue of the tooth. It surrounds the tooth root. It has a role to attach your tooth to the surrounding bone. Otherwise, the tooth would easily come out. It is made of type 1 collagen and protein polysaccharides mostly.
The soft tissue of the tooth is basically pulp. And only pulp is the living tissue of the tooth. The pulp of the tooth contains blood vessels, nerves, connective tissue. So a living tissue is surrounded by hard tissue. What a wonder, right!
The similarity between bone and teeth
- Teeth are white in colour; bone is also white in colour.
- Teeth are strong; bone is also strong.
- Teeth are composed of calcium phosphate and collagen; bone is also made of calcium phosphate and collagen.
- Teeth bear the load; bone also bears the load.
- The tooth has the pulp inside. This pulp contains different types of cells. In comparison, bone has bone marrow inside. Bone marrow contains different types of cells.
- There are different shapes and sizes of teeth, similarly bones in our body also have different shapes and sizes.
- The teeth contain Root canals whereas bone contains Haversian canals.
- Both bone and teeth has enormous aesthetic importance. When bone helps to shape a proper body line, teeth helps to shape a proper face line.
The difference between bone and teeth:
1. When a bone is broken, our body starts the healing process immediately. A soft callus is formed in the broken bone area. The hard callus replaces this soft callus with the production of new bone tissue. To make this healing process most effective, we need to immobile the broken bone region so that the broken bony parts can unite together again.
In case of teeth, if it is broken, teeth do not have the ability to heal on its own. As enamel is dead tissue, it can not heal or replace by a new one on its own. No callus is formed. So we see, if our enamel chips off, it does not fill up. We need to go to a dentist to restore. When we develop a cavity, it needs restoration to fill up the decayed tooth.
So protecting our teeth is very important. Once a part of teeth is lost, it’s permanent. One can go for restoration, but that is not the original tooth part. Maintains good oral hygiene is very important. It will reduce the chances to get teeth decay.The bone helps in the movement of different body parts. The tooth does not help in the movement of different body parts. Actually, every tooth is studded in bone.
2. Teeth help to cut the food and grind the food. Bone does not help to cut or grind the food.
3. The bone helps to produce different blood cells such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets. Teeth do not help to produce blood cells.
4. Teeth are on display, so it is easily visible. But bones are encased within structures.
5. The bone grows with the growth of the body. Once the growth of teeth is complete, it does not grow with the body.
Takeaway
Teeth and bone seem very similar, but functionally they are different. So if you ask, are teeth bones? The answer is absolute no. They both can have white colour, both are strong, but these are only their similarity.
The teeth are an organ, whereas bone is a part of the skeleton. Both teeth and bone are important structures of our body with their own values. So taking care of the two is very important. Stay healthy and happy.
