I thought I would take a break from my usual commentary on dental product marketing tactics and strategies.  Let’s look at some fun and interesting numbers related to dentistry.  I retrieved these from various internet sources, so let’s not get carried away and call them facts.  So, consider these dentistry related “stats” the next time you’re looking for an ice breaker…

• 25,000:  The number of quarts of saliva produced in a lifetime by the average human
• 20 million:  An estimate of the number of teeth extracted annually in the United States
• 50%:  The ratio of toothless adults in North America a century ago
• 90%:  A reported percentage of systemic diseases having oral manifestations
• 39,400:  Estimated new cases of cancer in oral cavity and pharynx in 2010
• 2:  Place of tooth decay in ranking of most common diseases in the US (behind the common cold)
• 141,900:  The number of dentists in the US in 2008
• 500 Million:  The estimated number of visits to the dentist made by Americans each year

Here are the sources from which I gleaned these dental numbers:

Encyclopedia.com, healthplex.com, cancer.org, CDC, and US Department of Labor

I hope you enjoyed this fun little exploration into dentistry by the numbers.  Please share your fun dental facts and trivia with me.  I look forward to your feedback.