Our teeth are very strong. They need to be judging by some of the hard and crunchy food we eat from time to time. But a new study has come up with a report that not only says why our teeth are so strong, but also what they have evolved from. Our teeth are also sensitive, and so, when a group of researchers were investigating some old fossils of fish with exoskeletons, they discovered that the armour around the fish contained dentine. Dentine is a part of our teeth and exists below the outer enamel.
Further investigations showed that there was a genetic link between the armour of fossilised fish and our modern teeth. So, how far back in time are we looking for this genetic link? It is back to the Cambrian Era, which dates around 500 million years ago.
Today, the research points to a similarity between our teeth and the sensory organs found on the shells of crabs. So, the next time you smell something fishy, check your teeth!
John Pullen 