00:00Why are teeth not considered bones? Picture a skull. It has teeth, doesn't it?
00:07So why are teeth not considered bones? Teeth and bones are both hard, white, and
00:13packed with calcium, but that doesn't make them one in the same. For one, teeth
00:18are mostly made of minerals. Bones, on the other hand, do have many minerals, but
00:23mainly consist of a protein called collagen. Collagen is a living, growing
00:28tissue that makes bones strong and flexible, but it doesn't make them as
00:32strong as teeth. Teeth are the hardest part of the human body, thanks to a
00:37calcified tissue called dentine. Dentine is covered with another material called
00:42enamel, which gives teeth their hard, shiny surface, your pearly whites. Still, bones
00:49have at least one advantage over teeth, even if they are weaker. They can
00:53regenerate. That means that if you break a bone, it can heal, but crack or
00:58chip a tooth and you're in for some dental work. Another difference between
01:02teeth and bones? Bone marrow. This spongy concoction inside your bones is
01:08responsible for producing blood cells, something the inside of your teeth
01:12definitely cannot do. And even though the inside of a tooth may look like marrow, it
01:18actually contains something called dental pulp. This living portion of each tooth
01:23contains nerves and blood vessels. It's those nerves that are responsible for the
01:28pain of a toothache or cavity. Teeth and bones, just another one of life's little
01:33mysteries.
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