Re: Tooth decay, how long does it take?

[Dennis C Hwang <dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu>]

On Sun, 24 Aug 1997, Tracy Ford wrote:

> Yes this does have to do with dinosaurs.
> 
> I don't think dinosaurs had decaying teeth because they were constantly 
> being replaced. 
> 
> I want to know if any one on the dinonet knows how long it takes teeth 
> to decay. I know infants, kids, teenagers and adult humans get tooth 
> decay, and mammals get tooth decay, but what about the reptilia?

Depends on what you mean by 'decay'.  Apparently, in humans, a cavity can
take years and years (as I discovered last time I was at the dentist's) to
grow to a perceptible size, and still leave the tooth more-or-less
functional.

I've seen teeth decayed into unrecognizability as well, which I would
presume took many years.  (Often in extraction specimens from
mentally-impaired young adults.)

I don't know how long it would take for a tooth to completely rot away,
but I would surmise at least a decade.

--Dennis
dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu
xenopathologist at large!
Deathwalker for President:  for some *real* health care reform.