Teeth....are they really bones?

Answer 1

Although teeth do have similar characteristics as bones they are usually not included in a list of bones for mammals.

Teeth have nerves in them, bones do not. Bones usually have marrow inside, teeth do not.

In addition, teeth are covered with a hard enamel. The part of teeth that is the most like bone is the layer called the dentin.

Answer 2

Teeth are not bones. Here are the reasons:

1) STRUCTURE & COMPOSITION
Teeth are composed of pulp at the core, which contains nerves and blood vessels - this has a very different function to marrow which is the site of the genertation of new blood cells.
Pulp is surrounded by dentin. Dentin matrix is similar to bone matrix biochemically and is calcified similar to bone, but it does not contain cells, does not undergo constant remodelling, and is thus not a calcium reservoir.
Outside dentin is enamel - this is a unique calcified tissue, and is very different structurally, biochemically and physicochemically to bone.
Teeth also have cementum which "binds" the periodontal ligament to the tooth.

2) FUNCTION
bones protect the hematopoeitc (blood producing) tissue in the marrow and the soft tissues of the skull (brain) and chest (heart, lungs)
bones are calcium reservoirs
bones are leavers for muscle action.

teeth are for chewing and grinding

Sean

Answer 3

No. Teeth are not bones. Bones have marrow and teeth do not. If you look in an anatomy book it states that there are 206 bones in the body, and that is not including teeth.

Answer 4

I disagree that they are bones.

Because a bone must have bone marrow that produces red blood cells, besides being able to do all kinds of movements.
The teeth are made of calcium, but are not bones, although bone formation requires calcium

Answer 5

both teeth and bone are shaped hard parts composed of calcium phosphate.
teeth is the hardest part of the mammalian body,
As mammals have become specialized to our many different lifestyles, our teeth have become modified to enable us to make the most out of our resources, that is, to obtain food more efficiently and to extract nutrients more quickly and thoroughly
Teeth are important to students of mammals in a number of contexts. With practise, we can look at the teeth of an unknown mammal and make a very good guess about what it eats, even without seeing any other part of its body. Yet, while the teeth of different species are often specialized in different ways, teeth vary relatively little within most species. For this reason, they provide a wealth of information to the systematist. And teeth are extremely hard, the hardest part of the mammalian body. They fossilize more consistently than any other part of a mammal, and indeed many species of extinct mammals are known only from their teeth. So mammalogists pay attention to teeth, and attention to their structure and diversity is a critical part of any mammalogy course.
while bone is also a hard part of our body, but not as hard as the teeth. Bones provide structure to your whole body, allow you to move in many ways, protect your internal organs,
with all these, i may conclude that though, bones and teeth look alike in thier stucture and their hardness, but, teeth are not bones.

Answer 6

No, teeth are not bones. They are made of a similar material, but medically speaking, they are not bones.

Answer 7

no they are little plastic things that and invisible doctor puts into your head as a kid. Yes they are bones. the bone grows out of your flesh and help you chew. just be happy that you don't have just gums, NO STEAK! lol

Answer 8

yep, teeth are really bones

Answer 9

similier but not refered to as bones

Answer 10

they are very similar to bones.