Why are teeth alive if they’re just bone and can’t regenerate? Why do they need blood flow and are able die?
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teeth are not bone. they are made up of substances called enamel, cementum, and dentin. enamel is actually harder than bone. inside of these substances, each tooth has a pulp chamber containing dentinal pulp. this is the part of the tooth that is connected to nerve and blood supply (you can like it to how there is bone marrow inside of bones, if you like).
typically, the dentinal pulp is the part of the tooth that, if damaged or decayed, will render a tooth nonvital (i.e., what makes a tooth “die”). if you think about someone getting a root canal, what the dentist/endodontist will actually do is tunnel through the top of a tooth, remove all diseased pulp, refill that pulp canal with a material called gutta percha, and seal it all with a fabricated crown made of porcelain, gold, etc.
the main goal of dentistry is *always* to conserve as much natural tooth structure as possible, whenever possible. good oral health is typically a strong indicator of good overall health. floss your teeth, pls.
source: am in dental school lol
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