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Why Are Teeth Not Considered Bones?
Live Science
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7/2/2025
Teeth and bones are both hard, white and heavy with calcium, but that doesn't make them one and the same. From the way they look to how they heal, teeth are quite different from the body's bones.
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Tech
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00:00
Why are teeth not considered bones? Picture a skull. It has teeth, doesn't it?
00:07
So why are teeth not considered bones? Teeth and bones are both hard, white, and
00:12
packed with calcium, but that doesn't make them one in the same. For one, teeth
00:18
are mostly made of minerals. Bones, on the other hand, do have many minerals, but
00:23
mainly consist of a protein called collagen. Collagen is a living, growing
00:28
tissue that makes bones strong and flexible, but it doesn't make them as
00:32
strong as teeth. Teeth are the hardest part of the human body, thanks to a
00:37
calcified tissue called dentine. Dentine is covered with another material called
00:42
enamel, which gives teeth their hard, shiny surface, your pearly whites. Still, bones
00:49
have at least one advantage over teeth, even if they are weaker. They can
00:53
regenerate. That means that if you break a bone, it can heal, but crack or
00:58
chip a tooth and you're in for some dental work. Another difference between
01:02
teeth and bones? Bone marrow. This spongy concoction inside your bones is
01:08
responsible for producing blood cells, something the inside of your teeth
01:12
definitely cannot do. And even though the inside of a tooth may look like marrow, it
01:18
actually contains something called dental pulp. This living portion of each tooth
01:23
contains nerves and blood vessels. It's those nerves that are responsible for the
01:28
pain of a toothache or cavity. Teeth and bones, just another one of life's little
01:33
mysteries.
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