Staff Writer

Wilmington

Are teeth bones?

Teeth consist mostly of hard, inorganic minerals like calcium. They also contain nerves, blood vessels and specialized cells. But they are not bones.

Teeth don’t have the regenerative powers that bones do and can’t grow back together if broken. Bones, on the other hand, are covered in a layer of cells called the periosteum that allow the bone to change over time.

Human teeth are made up of four different types of tissue: pulp, the innermost part, made up of connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels; dentin, which makes up most of the tooth and is hard as bone; enamel, the hardest tissue in the body; and cementum, which holds the tooth in place within the jawbone.

Teeth also don’t produce bone marrow, which makes red and white blood cells, like bones. Instead, the pulp is the the living portion of the tooth.

And of course, bones are found under our skin. Teeth are part inside – think of the root – and outside within our mouth.

Sources: KidsHealth.com, University of Wisconsin-Madison