Why Modern Humans Have the Worst Teeth in Human History

Your teeth are the only part of your body that cannot heal itself. Every other tissue — skin, bone, muscle, nerve — has some capacity for repair. But damage your enamel and it is gone permanently. And archaeological analysis of human teeth going back hundreds of thousands of years shows that the decay, crowding, and structural problems that plague modern humans were almost entirely absent from our ancestors — right up until a specific moment in history. A moment so recent and so consequential that when you understand what it was, you will never look at what you eat the same way again. In this video we go deeper than you'd expect on something most people look at twice a day without really seeing. Through biology, archaeology, psychology, and the world's spiritual traditions — including ancient Egypt, Hindu cosmology, and the Buddhist charnel ground meditations — we explore what your teeth are actually saying about you and about the world you live in. Topics covered: tooth enamel and hydroxyapatite crystals, the archaeological record of dental health, hunter-gatherer versus agricultural diets, wisdom teeth and jaw development, enamel hypoplasia, forensic dentistry, the Duchenne smile, dental anxiety, the University of Leeds first impressions study, the tooth fairy across cultures, teeth in dreams, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, Hindu cosmology and Kali, the memento mori tradition, Hamlet and Yorick, Buddhist charnel ground meditation, the Japanese and Navajo tooth traditions. The Liminal explores science, psychology, history, and spiritual meaning across topics most people think they already understand. New videos every one to two weeks. Also on this channel: Your Eye Color Reveals More Than You Think —    • Your Eye Color Reveals More Than You Think   What Your Ears Really Say About You —    • What Your Ears Really Say About You   Why Is Sex Taboo? —    • Why Is Sex Taboo?   What Sex Actually Does to the Human Being —    • What Sex Actually Does to the Human Being   Your Hands Are Revealing More Than You Think —    • Your Hands Are Revealing More Than You Think   Your Feet Are Telling You Something —    • Your Feet Are Telling You Something (Most ...