Get Your Teeth Into Dentistry Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Before the 19th century, dentistry was not a separate profession. Apart from general physicians, which "cutting" profession did people visit to get a tooth pulled?

Answer: Barbers

The world's first dental school was established in Bainbridge, Ohio, by Dr. John M. Harris in 1828; and the first dental college, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, was established in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1840. In the UK, the 1878 British Dentists Act (and 1879 Dentists Register) - along with the British Dental Association, formed in 1880 and presided over by Sir John Tomes - attempted to professionalize dentistry by restricting the title of "dentist" and "dental surgeon" to qualified (and registered) practitioners.

However, the proliferation of "barber dental consultants" continued into the 20th century. It wasn't until the 1921 Dentists Act that dentistry in the UK was fully regulated.

2. We've moved through various dental filling materials over the centuries, from beeswax 6,500 years ago to gold and silver-mercury amalgam in the 20th century. What's the most common dental filling material used today (especially for front teeth)?

Answer: Composites

Dental composites (aka white fillings) typically consist of a resin-based matrix and a filler (such as silica). A bonding agent (such as silane) is used to glue the matrix and the filler together. The filler gives the composite translucency and resistance to wear and tear, but composites do not last as long as amalgam fillings.

The lifespan of an amalgam filling is about 12.8 years, and it's 7.8 years for composite fillings.

3. The belief that a "tooth worm" caused dental caries traces back to Sumerian texts from 5000 BC. Who was the 14th century French surgeon who continued to promote this belief, and who was the 17th century French physician who scotched it?

Answer: Guy de Chauliac and Pierre Fauchard

The "tooth worm" myth was also common in ancient India, Egypt, Japan, and China and was also found in the works of Homer. European surgeons like Guy de Chauliac accepted it as gospel truth. It was not until the 17th century that dentistry acquired some scientific basis. Pierre Fauchard is believed to be the "father of modern dentistry" for developing revolutionary dental techniques and putting to bed for once and for all the "tooth worm" myth by proving that tooth decay is caused by sugar and derivative acids.

4. How many teeth did King Pyrrhus of Egypt have in his mouth when his mummy (no, not his mother) was discovered?

Answer: Two

In his "A letter to a Friend" of 1690, English physician Thomas Browne observed that Egyptian mummies always seem to have their mouths open, affording a good opportunity to check their teeth. He noted that King Pyrrhus "had but two in his Head".

5. What oral complaint are SCUBA divers and pilots more prone to get than the rest of us?

Answer: Barodontalgia

Barodontalgia is a toothache caused by atmospheric pressure changes, so SCUBA divers and pilots often fall victim to it. Luckily, the pain usually goes away when normal ground conditions apply.

6. In 1932 W.C. Fields starred in a knuckle-whitening classic movie called "The Dentist", and in 1996 another movie with the same name was produced by Brian Yuzna. Which real-life dentist and serial killer (what a dog!) was Yuzna's film allegedly inspired by?

Answer: Nick Rex

The horrors of dentistry and the peculiarities of dentists have been portrayed in many films since the 1932 classic, including the "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Marathon Man". Written by Dennis Paoli and Stuart Gordon; directed by Brian Yuzna; and starring Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman, and Ken Foree, "The Dentist" won "Best Special Effects" (1996 Fantafestival), the "Jury Grand Prize" (1996 Sweden Fantastic Film Festival) and was nominated "Best Film" (1996 Fantasporto) but did not win.

7. Which two diseases have been particularly associated with poor oral hygiene?

Answer: Diabetes and heart disease

Diabetics lack insulin and have difficulty processing sugar. Inflammation caused by poor oral hygiene weakens the body's ability to control blood sugar and, complicating matters, the resultant high blood sugar provides ideal conditions for bacterial infections (inflammations) to manifest. Oral inflammation also causes inflammation in the blood vessels, increasing the risk for heart attack by raising blood pressure and reducing the flow of blood between the heart and the rest of the body.

8. A constant diet of sugary foods and drinks coupled with poor dental hygiene is widely accepted as the primary cause of dental caries, yet public health authorities hold fast to a 1940s belief that adding a substance to our water supply will protect our pearly whites. What is this substance?

Answer: Fluoride

After children's teeth in a region of the USA with naturally fluoridated water were found to be less carious than children's teeth elsewhere, adding fluoride to water supplies became a public health initiative in the 1940s. Fluoride works by reducing the rate of tooth enamel demineralization in the early stage of caries, but it only helps teeth when it is actually in the mouth for a prolonged period. Taking fluoride tablets is useless, as is drinking fluoridated water in sugary cordials.

However, using fluoride toothpastes and mouth rinses, and having a dentist apply fluoride directly to the teeth, is useful.

It is true that excess fluoride ingestion has caused death, but its main risk, fluorisis, is a cosmetic rather than a health concern.

9. Patients suffering from odontophobia, dentophobia, dentist phobia, or dental anxiety are often helped by inhaling what type of gas through a nose mask?

Answer: Nitrous oxide

Most people who develop a phobia or an anxiety about dentistry do so after a traumatic dental experience and as such it is a well-founded fear and similar in nature to post-traumatic stress. Although some dentists still use nitrous oxide, the disorder can be managed in the short-term by oral sedatives (such as Valium) and in the long-term by behavioral management strategies.

In severe cases of anxiety, dentistry can be performed under general anesthesia.

10. A system of dental notation assigns each tooth two numbers. The first number indicates quadrant (starting from the upper right) and the second number indicates position of tooth from the midline of the face. So, what numbers do your two upper front teeth have?

Answer: 11 and 21

Used by dentists around the world, the FDI World Dental Federation system of notation (also known as ISO 3950) clearly identifies specific teeth. The first number (quadrant) assigns the number 1 to upper right teeth; 2 to upper left teeth; 3 to lower left teeth; and 4 to lower right teeth.

The second number (position) assigns a number starting from the midline of the face. So, your upper two front teeth are numbered 11 (right) and 21 (left), and your lower two front teeth are numbered 41 (right) and 31 (left).

Source: Author dramatica

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Taking this quiz will definitely not qualify you as a dentist, but it may provide enough laughs to make visiting one less traumatic. (Quiz Authoring Challenge set by Kenners158)

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