Our mouths can do so much more than smile and chew! Find out some super fun facts about the mouth that’ll leave you shocked!
The bigger the mouth, the bigger the facts? Maybe so! But when it comes to stuffing your brain full of facts, why not stuff your mouth at the same time? Fun facts about the mouth are sure to make even the most stubborn people crack a smile.
Since one of the first things that we notice about people when we meet them is their mouths, why not take the time to learn a little bit more about the big gaping hole on all of our faces?
Think about how many times per day we actually use our mouths. From eating to sneezing to yawning, to literally just opening our lips to breathe, it’s safe to say that our mouth is super important in our daily functions and lives.
It’s time to show the world that our mouth can do so much more than eat endless amounts of Twinkies and blow kisses to our crushes across the room. These fun facts about the mouth prove that our mouth is able to do so many other cool things!
Contents:
20 Fun Facts About the Mouth
1. There are more than 10,000 taste buds in your mouth
This is why hot is hot and sweet is sweet. With thousands of taste buds, this is how we have such a wide range of flavor when we eat. It’s why chocolate takes so good when we eat it!
But beware, taste buds can be inflamed as well and get sore and swollen. If you eat too much spice, you can blow out your taste buds. If you’ve ever had the hottest curry in the world you’ll know what we mean!
2. A kiss that lasts 60 seconds burns 26 calories
Who says those makeout sessions weren’t doing us any good? With 26 calories burned after a minute of smooching, pucker up and burn those calories!
Having a kissing calorie-burning session just might be one of the best mouth facts ever. We’ve never needed an excuse to kiss our partner, but this is a good one.
3. Chlorine breaks down tooth enamel
This is one of the many reasons you should keep your mouth closed when swimming.
You need enamel on your teeth for good oral health, so keep that mouth shut tight the next time you’re at the pool.
4. Teeth are alive – and teeth can die
Did you know the teeth in your mouth are living right this very minute? And if they get nerve damage at any point in time, they’re going to die in your mouth, too.
A tooth that is dead or dying can be replaced with cosmetic dentistry, so have no worries. You don’t have to live out your life with a no longer living tooth in your mouth.
5. Your tongue literally never gets tired
Think about it. Has your tongue ever felt like it needed a rest? It’s like the Energizer bunny and can keep going and going and going all day long.
(If you’re picturing tongue push-ups happening in your mouth right now, get in line. There has to be some sort of workout happening to keep your tongue that strong!)
6. When you smile, you’re giving your body a natural immunity boost
A smile releases an endorphin to your brain that can boost your health! Forget about “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and turn that frown upside down instead for some body health.
7. You chew on the side of your mouth that is your dominant hand
Have you ever thought about where you chewed your food? Most people have a favorite side that they prefer. Right-handed people chew more on their right, and left-handers choose the left side of their mouth.
Give yourself a mental test and see if you can start chewing on the opposite side more. Fair warning, it’s going to feel totally weird, and you’ll probably be chewing at a much slower pace.
8. Toothpaste has only been around for just over 100 years
Don’t even question what people did before toothpaste was invented… these facts about the mouth prove that we’re living in much healthier times
This doesn’t mean that they didn’t practice dental health. They just did it without over-the-counter toothpaste and floss.
9. There are no set of teeth in the world that are like yours
Teeth are unique, and there are no other teeth like yours in the world. This is how many crimes are solved actually, by dental records.
If a match is made using dental records, there is no denying that it’s the truth – because teeth are unique to just one single person in the world!
10. You have taste buds on your cheeks
Makes total sense, right?! There are some foods that can literally make the insides of your cheeks pucker in a way that has you sucking in those cheeks.
This could also be why it hurts so much when you bite the inside of your cheek. You’re biting tissue, skin, muscles, and taste buds all in one!
11. The print of your tongue is unique to just you
Think of your tongue as the DNA fingerprint of your mouth. The tongue actually is made up of muscles and has a pattern on it that is different from anyone else in the world.
Can you imagine if your computer or iPhone asked you to use your tongue as a way to sign in to devices like they do your fingerprint? What a crazy world that would be.
12. Hundreds of bacteria live in your mouth at all times
Hundreds and hundreds of bacteria are hanging out in your mouth right now. If you’re ever feeling alone, just remember that.
No matter where you are or what you’re doing, there’s a bacteria party going on inside your head right this very second.
It’s not a bad thing to have bacteria in your mouth, even though it sounds pretty grimy and gross. They’re the good bacteria.
13. The mouth develops teeth before babies are born
There are even some babies that are born with teeth! But before you’re freaked out too much, don’t worry. All babies develop teeth before they’re born, but the teeth don’t produce until 6-12 months’ time.
14. Our mouths produce a ton of saliva in our lives – enough to fill up two swimming pools
Holy moly, that’s a lot of spit! Two whole swimming pools may not sound like a lot throughout your entire life but the next time you see a pool, imagine how much spit it would take to fill it.
It’s a lot. A lot, a lot. Kinda gross, right?
15. Teeth are one of the only things on a human’s body that can’t fix or repair themselves
This is what the dentist’s office is for. But if you break or chip a tooth, that tooth isn’t going to fix itself and grow back.
If a tooth dies, it dies. It won’t magically come back to life no matter how much oil pulling or voodoo you try.
16. The space underneath the tongue is called the “floor”
Now that you know that the area under your tongue has an actual name, you have to refer to it as the “floor of your mouth” at all times. (Randomly spitting out fun mouth facts is what it’s all about!)
17. On average, males have a bigger mouth in terms of size than females
Many men may try and debate this, but it’s the truth. This doesn’t mean that men use their mouths more than women, but in terms of size, their mouths are larger.
18. The human tongue is 3 inches long
That’s quite a lot of tongue. And there are some people who have super long tongues. You know who you are!
If your tongue can lick the tip of your nose, you either have a longer than average nose or a longer than an average tongue. You can figure out which.
19. The tongue continues to grow as you age
Totally sounds a bit freaky, right? But don’t worry. You’re not going to wake up one day and have a lizard tongue or anything like that, but your tongue will continue to grow a bit as you get older.
20. Adults make up to 2 gallons of saliva every single day
It takes a lot of saliva to taste and function. Your mouth is like the recycling center of your body and helps to keep your saliva, taste buds, and teeth healthy.
Two gallons daily of saliva is a lot when putting it in context. It’s like filling two jugs with milk daily, but with your spit!
Who wants more fun facts?
If you’re looking for some recommendations, these are a few of our favorite fact books to buy. We use these when planning fun trivia nights with family and friends!
Who knew that there were so many mouth facts out there! Most people don’t think twice about the mouth besides eating and drinking – but it deserves more credit than that!
Out of all of these facts about the mouth, which one surprised you the most? Let us know if we’ve missed any and we’ll add them to our list!
