Human teeth gradually shrink over time

A study lasting more than 40 years shows that the size of human teeth decreases with our age.

Lars Bondemark, Malmo University professor of orthodontics in Sweden, and colleagues looked at the plaster jaw molds of dental students in 1949 when they were in their twenties. The team then compared those patterns to the jaw patterns of those same dental students in 1959 and 1989, the Healthday reported.

"We found that after more than 40 years, human teeth are getting smaller and smaller," Bondemark told a news conference.

In fact, the more people age, the longer the length and width of the teeth - mostly the lower jaw - decrease. This situation made the distance between the front teeth decrease.

The degree of jaw atrophy of each person is not the same due to the effect of genetic factors and structure. In some cases, these changes are so big that we can recognize abnormalities when chewing and biting.

"In that case, we should not worry too much because it is a normal phenomenon. However, dentists should also consider the patient's continuous jaw atrophy when studying the ability to chew and bite. they , "Professor Bondemark said

The professor commented that we can eliminate the possibility of wisdom teeth that causes the front teeth to be cornered, because even people without wisdom teeth still have the risk of having thick front teeth.