You're listening toBrainzon, where we're serious about beingcurious.
Brainzon is supported on part by a grant from the National ScienceFoundation.
Alright,alright, quietdown.
I said quietdown. Welcome to CampCosymolars, the one and only summer camp for babyteeth.
Oh mygosh, oh mygosh, summercamp.
I'm going to paddle canoe and I'm going to make friends andbracelets.
I'm going to discover my long lost tooth twint and have to plan to reunite our tooth parents with hilariousconsequences.
Settle down babyteeth.
I need all of your toothy focus onme.
Now time for a camp cozy molartradition.
Telling scary stories around thecampfire.
Who's got a scarystory?
I've gotone. It was a dark and stormynight.
Taylor, thetooth, was getting ready forbed.
When she realized she was out oftoothpaste.
Alright,alright, let's not make these stories tooscary.
This is a summer camp for baby teeth afterall, not adultteeth.
Who'snext? I have a scarystory.
It's called PictureDay.
There once was a baby tooth named Tony and Tony was very excited for PictureDay.
He was sure his picture would be the verybest.
But one thing Tony the tooth didn'trealize.
He has finished stuck onhim.
Oh! You're listening to Braids on from APMStudios.
I'm Molly Bloom and I'm here with IA fromAtlanta,Georgia.
Hi,IA.Hi,Molly. Today we're talking all about ourteeth.
Those amazing little appendages in our mouths that help us chewgum, nibblepopcorn, and crunch on carrotsticks.
Our teeth also help us make sounds and formwords.
Right, you've probably heard that it's important to brush and floss your teeth because it helps preventcavities.
But what is acavity? Lots of our listeners are curious aboutthem.
Hi, my name isTay. And my name is Ben and we're fromToronto,Canada.
We were wondering how our dental cavity isformed.
Hi, my name is Anand fromTexas.
And my question is how come you get calories if you don't brush yourteeth?
I really miss Molly and I'm fromDallas,Texas.
My name is August and I'm fromCootsfield,Pennsylvania.
What is a cavity in how does the dentist fixit?
How do you get a cavity in your teeth and how does the dentist fixit?
SoIA, what have you heard aboutcavities?
I've heard that they heard a lot and you have to go to the dentist to get them fixed ortreated.
Have you ever gottenone?
No, I haven't gotten one but I feel like I'm going to get one at least once in mylife.
Yeah, most people do forsure.
Have you lost any teethyet?
Yeah, I've lost 70th and I had to get two of them pulledout.
Oh,wow.Okay, so how old were you when you lost your firsttooth?
I was almosteight.Okay,seven.
Have you kept all your babyteeth?
Yep.Yeah, I kept all my baby teeth growing uptoo.
And I think they're somewhere in myparents' housestill.
A little box ofteeth, totally normalthing.
Yeah,totally. How do you feel about going to thedentist?
Some people are scared about going to the dentist buthonestly, the dentist is not thatbad.
It's kind of fun because our dentist gives us toys after we're done and it doesn't hurtso.
That's a greatdeal. So when you go to thedentist, which is your favorite part of theexperience?
When they clean our mouths because they give us like a bunch of options of like toothpaste withmarshmallow,strawberry,raspberry,chocolate.
And I always choose chocolate because I lovechocolate.
I've never had chocolatetoothpaste.
That soundsgreat. Itis.
Oh, I'mjealous. So what is your least favorite part of going to thedentist?
When the dentist comes and uses all those tools to open your mouth and check and it kind of hurts to keep your mouth open for thatlong.
Or when they ask you a question and you'relike, You can't reallyanswer.
It's a lot ofawkward. Itis.
We're going to talk about cavities in a bit but first we need some toothybackground.
When you're firstborn, We don't have any teeth atall.
But by the time you're about six monthsold, you start getting your first babyteeth.
Overtime, you'll get more and more babyteeth.
And by the time you're about three yearsold, you'll have 20 ofthem.
Humans, like mostmammals, have two sets of teeth in theirlives.
So just a couple yearslater, around agefive, you'll start losing your babyteeth.
And they'll be replaced by your larger adultteeth.
Those teeth will last you a lifetime if you take care ofthem.
And here's something that might surprise you about yourteeth.
They have differentlayers, almost like a raw chickenegg.
The outside layer of your tooth is called theenamel.
It's like the shell on the outside of the egg and it's the hardest substance in yourbody.
Even harder than yourbones.
Its job is to protect your tooth and keep itstrong.
Underneath the enamel shell is a layer of something calleddentin.
You know how if you crack a rawegg, there's clear stuffinside?
Well, the dentin layer is kind of like the clear part inside of theegg.
But instead of being runnyliquid, dentin is hard likebone.
And that helps it protect the very inside of yourtooth.
That very inside part is the thirdlayer.
It's called thepulp. The pulp is like the yellow yolk at the center of theegg.
And it's full of blood and special cells callednerves.
The nerves help your teeth sense when something is very hot or verycold.
So when you buy into apopsicle, the nerves inside your teeth and the message to your brain thatsays,whoa, that'scold.
The pulp at the center of each tooth is also really important because it brings blood to the tooth and helps keep italive.
But teeth aren't like hair ornails.
They're actually living feeling parts of yourbody.
Yeah. There's a lot going on inside your teeth that you can'tsee.
And getthis. There's also a lot of teeny tiny microscopic things living on your teeth that are invisible to the nakedeye, likebacteria.
Wait, thewhat? We've got bacteria in ourmouths.
We suredo. All of us have millions of bacteria living on every surface inside ourmouths.
Ourtongues, ourteeth, even the inside of ourcheeks.
It's like a big bacteria party in there that neverstops.
Aparty?This? I've got tosee.
Let's bust out the Zoom right and check itout.
Whoa, this is aparty. I'm guessing those are thebacteria?
Woo! Anyone want to play pin the tail on theparamicia?
Ohyes, that's definitely a bacteriaparty.
Who knew there would be so many differentkinds?
There are roundones, long skinny bacteria that look like hotdogs.
Even ones shaped likecorkscrews.
Excuseme.Hello. Overhere.
Molly, I think that bacteria is trying to get yourattention.
Molly? I thought I recognized yourvoice.
Wow,wow,wow. I think such an honor to meetyou.
Bigfan.Huge. Thankyou.
That'sbacteria. But you can call meBams.
Huh? I didn't realize bacteria listened to podcasts or were soenergetic.
Oh, we may bemicroscopic, but our appetite for high-quality podcast content isginormous.
Bapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapapap PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAPA PAP Perfectwarm, spittybed.
Anywho, having bacteria in your mouth might sound a little weird orcreepy, but we do a ton of good stuff for yourbodies.
Ohyeah, the bacteria in our mouths help us break down the food we eat so it's easier for us todigest.
It sounds a lot like the bacteria that live in our stomach andguts.
They help break down the food we eat and keep us healthytoo.
Forsure, they do a lot of work to keep our bodies runningsmoothly.
Exactly, but for therecord, those gut bacteria definitely aren't your biggestfans,Molly.
They don't know your cat'sname, whenslow, or your favorite healthysnack, cottagecheese.
Wow, Babs really is your number onefan,Molly.
Hey, how did you know mycats?
Molly, I am so nice to meetyou, but I got awiggle.
I'm up next for thebacteria, teriyokicontest, and I gotta go warm up these oldpipes.
Okay, let's zoom back out for abit.
So we've got this big family of bacteria in our mouths having a party all thetime, but how does all this connect back tocavities?
Well, sometimes this family of bacteria gets thrown out ofwhack, and that can have a big impact on yourteeth.
But before we get tothat, I've got something else for us to sink our teethinto.
It's time forthe... Are you ready to hearit,Aya?
Yep.Alright, here itis.
What do youthink?Okay, it kind of sounds maybe something you have topull, and then it goesdown, but it keeps bouncing a littlewhile, or youknow, those door-stop thingies that arelike...
They have springs onthem, kind of sounds like it rattling back andforth.
Yes, I can totally hearthat.
Should we hear it again and see if we get any otherthoughts?
Yes.Okay, here itis.Hmm, newideas.
Maybe something likespinning,spinning, and thenlanding, and like keep spinning while it's landing abit.
These are all really goodideas.
I have no idea what this iseither.
So what we've heard is something kindof...
there's like a bouncingsound.
Yeah, kindof.Okay,well, we're going to hear itagain, get another chance toguess, and hear the answer after thecredits.
So keeplistening! Heyfriends, we're working on an episode all aboutmatches.
Those incredible little wooden sticks that make fire when you strike them on asurface.
And we want to hear fromyou.
If you could come up with a new name formatches, what would itbe?
Maybe the flamingtwig, or the firefairy.
I have what do you think you have a new name formatches?
Maybelike, sparkysticks, becauselike, like a match makes sparks that eventually startfires.
I like sparkysticks. That is much moredescriptive, because like the word matches is sort of a strangeword.
It doesn't really describe what it'sdoing,right?
Yeah, there's like another meaning formatch,so, and sometimes it may beconfusing.
So sparkysticks, itis.
I loveit. Welllisteners, record yourself telling us about your ideas for a better name formatches.
Send them to us atbrainson.org.
And while you'rethere, you can send us mysterysounds,drawings, andquestions.
Like thisone,hi, my name isAbigail, and my questionis, why are flags different in each country in theworld?
And how did the United States come up with ourflag?
That's brainson.org slashcontact.
And keeplistening. You're listening tobrainson.
I'mMolly, and I'mAya. And holy mollers were talking all aboutteeth.
Specifically, why we getcavities.
Before thebreak, we learned that teeth have threelayers, just like anegg.
And Nammal is on the outside like theshell.
Denton is in themiddle, like the clear part of theegg, and the pulp is at the center of thetooth, just like theoak.
We also learned there's a ton of bacteria in ourmouths.
A lot of that bacteria is reallyhelpful.
Right. The kind of bacteria that breaks down food and keeps our immune systemhealthy.
But there's also other kinds of bacteria in ourmouths, and some of these bacteria aretroublemakers.
Let's whip the Zoom right out again and take alook.
Check out thosedudes.Hey, you want a piece ofmeat, toughguy?
I will dance better you right here rightnow.
Oh, I'm going to dance so hard you're not going to know what hityou.
Nobody can capture a passion likeme.
Well, my hips solie. I floss like nobody'sbusiness, the toothkind, and the dancekind.
Wow. I never thought I'd ever get to see a bacteria danceoff.
This could be a great step upsequel.
Step upbacteria,boogie, could be the next blockbusterhit.
Soyes, as long as the bacteria in your mouth are moving and groovingaround, it's really noproblem.
It becomes a problem when the troublemaker bacteria stick around for too long and start to takeover.
Takeover. So what are these troublemakerslike?
Do they wear matching leather jackets andJ-Walk?
Do theylitter? These troublemaker bacteria do not wear matching leather jackets orJ-Walk, but they dolitter.
Sortof. You see that group of troublemaker bacteria overthere?
You know we're bad realbad.
Shippee!Whoa, they looktough.
And are they eatingsomething?
They're eating the sugar from the food we chew and any sweet drink wesip.
Yousee, it's not just us eating ourfood.
The bacteria in our mouth eat ittoo.
And bacteria lovesugar.
Thank you for yourgoodness.
Eatup. Narliedude,litter,litter, sugardinner.
The bacteria get lots of energy from eating the sugar in ourfood, and all this energy makes them poop out this sticky acid onto ourteeth.
Ew, acidlittering. This is the worst kind oflittering.
Yeah, and it's not great for yourteeth.
All these sugar gobbling bacteria that stick to your teeth are calledplaque.
And when that plaquehardens, it's calledtartar.
Oh, I've heard of both of those things from mydentist.
I never knew it wasbacteria.
Iknow. And the more plaque and tartar that buildup, the worse it is for yourteeth.
If this kind of bacteria hangs around and keepssnacking, they'll make more and moreacid.
And that acid can eventually eat a little hole in yourtooth.
That hole is called acavity.
It's like the bacteria are using the acid to dig a tiny tunnel in yourtooth.
Exactly. Did someone saydig?
We love todig. We digit.
Yeah, almost as much as we lovesugar.
These guys are theworst.
Let's zoomout, shallwe?
Please. So that's how cavitiesform.
The troublemaker bacteria get comfy and start eating the sugar in yourmouth.
Then they poop outacid, which starts to wear down the enamel on yourteeth.
And that makes a hole called acavity.
We know bacteria likesugar.
Are there other foods that can make cavitiesworse?
Yeah, they especially love sweet sticky things like candies andcaramel.
But they also like starchy foods like potato chips or crackers that can get stuck in your teeth and hang out for awhile.
Ah, makessense. If the food sticksaround, that means more time for the troublemaker bacteria to hangaround.
So to avoid getting acavity, it's important to keep all those bacteria moving andgrooving.
And you can keep the bacteria moving by brushing twice a day and flossingregularly.
Exactly. Speaking oftoothbrushes, Iam.
If you could make the toothbrush of yourdreams, what would it looklike?
Would it have specialtools, a specialname?
What would itdo? Tell me aboutit.
This is an interesting thing to thinkabout.
Maybe it couldbe, it could look like a normal electric toothbrush and then have twocompartments.
And one of the compartments could like hold little flosses in there since you said that that flossing is reallyimportant.
And then there would be anothercompartment.
So when you're donebrushing, you take the brush part and put it into thecompartment, take the floss out and attach it to a little hookthing.
And then you can use the normal toothbrush and it can help you dig into the spots that you need a flossmore.
I lovethat. That is souseful.
It sounds like an amazingdesign.
I think maybe you should be an engineer when you growup.
Maybe. So with this new fancytoothbrush, have a specialname?
Yeah. ShinoRama. Like the ShinerTeeth.
Ohyeah. I likeit. The ShinoRama.
Well, we also asked listeners to describe a toothbrush of the future and here's what they came upwith.
Hi, this is what my toothbrush wouldbe.
It would be like a robot with on toothbrush arms and it would brush your teeth and do everything like put a toothpaste on and get wet andstuff.
Toothbrushes in the future are like vacuums that stuck up all the badthings.
And when it's time to put toothpasteon, the toothpaste comes out of the toothpastecompartment.
And when it's time to use yourmouthwash, the mouthwash comes out of the mouthwashcompartment.
I would make it fly and it would already know that I wanted it totoothbrush.
So it would be like it's zerominutes, so it all retied toit.
And when you're all done brushing your teeth and washing your mouthout, it has speakers that remind you tofloss.
My future toothbrush would be a screen in a camera with your dentist on it and your dentist telling where you should brush yourteeth.
My future toothbrush and the future would shape sure to get different parts of yourmouth.
It would float and go superfast.
In thefuture, the toothbrushes are dentures and you can put them in your mouth and they like shake and you put toothpaste in and they do all the brushing foryou.
And the bristles are gray and it comes with toothpaste and it'sfree.
A toothbrush where if you hadbraces, it would send out little furry bits that would go under your braces and clean your teeth foryou.
And if you neededbraces, it would just give you the braces without anypain.
If like in the mornings you forgot to brush yourteeth, it would come to you and embarrass you in front of all your friends and brush your teeth foryou.
My true toothbrush would have built in many TVs so I could watch TV while I was brushing myteeth.
Make something like a retainer and then you would put it in your mouth and then just press your button and then it would turn all your teeth at the sametime.
I would be laying in my bed and I'd be listening to brains on and I really love it and the toothbrush would be brushing my teeth and flossing and it's sofun, staying in my bed is likebang.
Giant smiles and thanks go out toGrace,Nikon,Kora,Dashel,Solomon,Katie,Kaban,Eleanor,Lissa,Sierra,Lila, Andrew and Adma for recording their brush-tastic ideas and sending them tous.
So,Aya, where werewe? So we know we can prevent cavities by brushing and flossing our teeth but what about if we already have acavity?
Getting cavities is totallynormal.
Both kids and adults can get them and most people have at least one in theirlifetimes.
But the good news is that cavities are superfixable.
Few. Doublefew. I talked toDr.
Jean Star aboutthis. She's a pediatric dentist at the University ofCalifornia, SanFrancisco, which means she's a dentist who works withkids.
And shesaid, if you have acavity, the dentist will start by cleaning yourteeth.
So what the dentist does is they use a little tool to clean thetooth.
So they clean the outside of the tooth and even clean a little bit of the inside of thetooth.
And we look really closely to make sure there's no germs left in thetooth.
The dentist can usually see the cavity just with their eyes or by using their special magnifyingglasses.
Once they find thehole, they fillit.
And that's why it's called afilling.
And then where the cavity germs have made a hole in the tooth or made the tooth not asstrong, we replace that part of the tooth with a stronglayer.
Sometimes I call it like a toothplay-doh.
And what it does is it makes your toothvery,very, very strong in the spots where the cavitywas.
And it's even stronger than it wasbefore.
That strong layer of tooth play-doh is also called fillingmaterial.
And it makes the tooth even stronger than it wasbefore.
And the bestpart, that cavity can't come back to the same exact spot where you put that toothplay-doh.
It's superprotected.Right.
It's also worth pointing out that some people get more cavities thanothers.
And there are lots of different reasons forthat.
So what is a balance of all sorts ofthings?
It's not only cleaning yourteeth, but it's what you'reeating.
It's what types of germs are in your mouth that comes maybe from yourfamily.
And it has to do also with where you live and yourwater.
There's a lot of things that go intocavities.
So there are lots of different things that could make some of us have more cavities thanothers.
And some of those things are out of ourcontrol.
But we do have control when it comes to taking care of ourteeth.
That's the whole tooth and nothing but thetooth.
Your teeth are living things with layers just like anegg.
All of us have millions of bacteria living in ourmouths.
A lot of that bacteria is really good and helps keep ushealthy.
But there's also troublemaker bacteria in yourmouth.
And these bacteria love to eat sugary stuff stuck in yourteeth.
When they eatsugar, these bacteria poop out acid that can wear little holes in yourteeth.
All of thecavities. Brushing and flossing your teeth help keep the bacteria from sitting in the same place for too long and makingcavities.
But if you do get acavity, the good news is that your dentist can fixit.
That's it for this episode of Brainson.
This episode was written by Ruby Guthrie and ShabaFarzon.
It was produced by MollyBloom, RosieDuPont, AnnaGoldfield, AronAldouselossi, Anna Weggle and MarkSanchez.
We had editing help from SanEdtent, sound designed by Mark Sanchez and we had engineering help from Derek Ramirez and MatthewMcWilliams.
Beth Proman is our executiveproducer.
The executive is in charge of APMStudios, our ChandraCavati, AlexShaffert, and JoanneGriffith.
Special thanks to FarahHussein, JudeHujid, EricCarmero, SamanthaFields, JeffJones, CurtisGilbert, andSarah.
Brains on is a non-profit public radioprogram.
There are lots of ways to support theshow, head toBrainsOn.org.
While you'rethere, you can send us mysterysounds,drawings, andquestions.
And you can subscribe to our SmartyPass.
It gives you a special ticket to Brains on Universe Bonus content plus add freeepisodes.
Okay,Aya, are you ready to hear that mystery soundagain?
Ohyes.Okay, here itis.
So last time you thought maybe something spinning andfalling, something that little store stoppervibrating.
What do you have any newthoughts?
Honestly, I think I'm going to stick with myanswers.
I don't think of anythingelse.
Yeah, I'm going to guess it's a tiny creature tap dancing in the kitchen on thecounter.
Like a teddy bear come tolife.
That'snormal,right?Sure.
Okay,sure.Okay,cool.
Should we hear theanswer?
Yes.Okay, here itis. My name is Thessonine and I live inVictoria,Australia.
That was the sound of me rolling a dice on atable.
Oh, rolling adice. I mix a lot ofsense.
It does make a lot ofsense.
Okay, I feel like we weren't that faroff.
You were saying it's like spinning anddropping.
Yeah. The dice was spinning in the air and dropping and thenlanding.
And thenlanding,exactly.
So I think you were prettyclose.
Excellent mystery sound and excellentguessing.
Now it's time for the brains honorroll.
These are the kids who keep this show going with their questionsideas, mysterysounds, drawings and highfives.
Bilal fromCairo,Egypt, Cameron fromShriver,Louisiana, Amelia fromMurry,Utah, Ben fromSeattle,Olivia, Laurel and Audrey fromMenifee,California, Amine fromStratford,Ontario, Oli and Noah fromSpokane,Washington, Theo fromTerrytown, NewYork, Carrigan and Devon fromFollston,Maryland, Alex fromCalifornia, Olivia and Grace fromMelbourne,Australia, Grace fromBrooklyn, NewYork, Sansi fromBellevue,Washington, Lino fromDoha, Tervel fromSophia,Bulgaria, Margot from OklahomaCity, Isabella from theUK, Gaines and Pierce fromCalcium, NewYork, Sam fromBenbrook,Texas, Susanna fromBoulder,Colorado, Elliott fromMiddletown,Connecticut, Amin from SanAntonio,Texas, West fromUreacum,Missouri, Sophia fromRossville,Georgia, Zoe fromSpeedway,Indiana, Wimbrily fromSwitzerland, Griffin fromAustin,Texas, Mia and Bexley fromWesterville,Ohio, Fena fromCalgary,Alberta, Lay fromLiverpool,England, Ethan and Adelina fromZionsville,Indiana,Hunt, George and Kate fromDover,Massachusetts, Eliza and Jasper fromOakland,California, Charlie and Olivia from TraverCity,Michigan, Emily fromMuncie,Indiana, Marjorie fromVancouver, Maya fromBrisbane,Australia, Lucas fromFranklin,Massachusetts, Zaya fromMaya,Guaz, PuertoRico, Vinegan fromOntario, Olivia and Isabella fromTidechung,Taiwan, Nove fromCantu,Italy, Logan and Delany from Dairy NewHampshire, Michaela fromChicago, Hannah fromCollege,Dation,Texas, Isabella and Giannella fromEncino,California, Oliver fromStevenage,England, Bradley and Caden fromArgyle,Texas, Annabelle from LionelLake,Minnesota, Web fromMalibu,California, Kei fromSnohomish,Washington, Maxine Vivian and Stella fromCleveland, Calvin fromCalgary, Joshua fromDayton,Ohio, Graceland fromOmaha, Reggie fromCalifornia, Casper fromSingapore, Nitya fromHyderabad,India, Elizabeth fromDobbs, Fiery in NewYork, Bodie from SandyOregon, Jennifer fromTrio,Sville,Virginia, Miles from Melvin and Jackson fromDenver.
We'll be back next week with more answers to yourquestions.
