Why do animals' teeth not get cavities?

Introduction to Dental Hygiene

"Peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings. From the day we became aware of the world, we’ve always heard the phrase ‘brush your teeth before you go to sleep.’ And as we grew up, we understood that brushing our teeth is essential and absolutely necessary if we want to maintain our dental health.

Questioning Human-Exclusive Dental Practices

But have you ever wondered, while you’re holding your toothbrush and brushing your teeth, why is it only us who are required to maintain our dental hygiene? The rest of God’s creatures don’t brush their teeth. Cats have teeth, crocodiles have teeth, sharks have teeth, and the list goes on without end. I’ve never seen any of them, for example, bring out a toothbrush after a meal to clean their teeth.

The Secret Behind Animals’ Dental Health

But wait a second, I also haven’t seen animals with cavities. So, what’s the secret?

The Role of Saliva and pH in Oral Health

Before we understand why animals don’t need to care for their teeth like us, we first need to understand why we care for our teeth at all. We all know that if we don’t brush our teeth and neglect them, over time they will start to decay.

Dietary Habits and Tooth Decay

But what actually causes teeth to decay in the first place? Can’t we just eat and enjoy without any worries? To understand why this happens, we first need to know that oral health depends on the pH level of our saliva.

Natural Cleaning Mechanisms in Animals

The pH level, or ‘potential of hydrogen,’ is the scale that tells us whether a substance is alkaline, acidic, or neutral, ranging from 0 to 14. Substances with a pH level less than 7 are considered acids, and those above 7 are considered alkalines. The only thing with a pH level exactly 7 is water, and here we’re not talking about just any water, like the water that comes out of the tap.

Antibacterial Properties in Animal Saliva

We mean water that enjoys a high level of purity. When it comes to our mouths, our saliva’s natural pH level ranges from 6.5 to 7.5. Here lies the problem: the pH level of saliva isn’t always stable and can easily be affected by anything we eat or drink throughout the day.

The Rarity of Tooth Decay in Animals

For example, starches, sugars, fizzy drinks, coffee, tea—all these things can lower the pH level of saliva, turning the mouth into an acidic environment. And since there are bacteria living in our mouths, just as there are bacteria living in any other part of our body, the bacteria thrive in this acidic environment because it suits them perfectly.

Domesticated Animals and Dental Care

As soon as you eat anything we’ve just mentioned, the bacteria become active and start nibbling on the food residues accumulated in your mouth and between your teeth. And since these bacteria are living organisms, naturally, when they dine, they need to, let’s say, answer nature’s call.

Street Animals and Tooth Longevity

When this happens, they produce waste in the form of a group of amino acids. These acids, when they accumulate on the teeth because you don’t brush, start to react with the outer layer of the tooth or molar, which is the enamel layer.

The Unique Dental System of Predators

What do they do? They eat away at it and turn it black, and that’s what we call decay. We talked about this decay in detail in an episode titled ‘Why do teeth decay, and is it real decay or not?’ You’ll find it on the channel.

Rodents’ Ever-Growing Teeth

If you focus on what we’ve said, you’ll understand that the decay that happens in our teeth primarily depends on the food we eat. It’s not just about brushing teeth or anything else. Yes, brushing teeth is necessary to remove food residues and acids before they accumulate, but the starting point was the type of food itself, not the cleaning."