Here are 15 Fun Facts about shark teeth:
1. Shark teeth are not attached to gums on a root like our teeth
2. Sharks typically lose at least one tooth per week
3. Sharks lose their teeth because they may become stuck in prey or broken and forced out
4. Shark teeth are arranged in neat conveyor belt rows and can be replaced within a day of losing one.
5. Sharks average up to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw.
6. Shark teeth are popularly found as beach treasures because sharks shed 1000s of teeth in a lifetime.
7. Well after a shark dies and its body decomposes its teeth will fossilize.
8. Fossilized shark teeth aren’t white because they’re usually covered with sediment (preventing oxygen and bacteria from getting to them).
9. It takes about 10,000 years for a shark tooth to fossilize. The most commonly found fossils are from 65,000 year ago (the Cenozoic era).
10. Venice, FL (on the Gulf of Mexico) calls itself the “shark tooth capital of the world”.
11. Sharks are born with complete sets of teeth and swim away from their mother to fend for themselves.
13. Whale sharks have 3,000 little teeth that are of little use. They’re filter feeders that find food by sifting through their gills.
14. Shark teeth and human teeth are equally as hard.
15. Sharks do not suffer from cavities.
