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Many people suffer through a shark attack each year, which sometimes proves fatal due to its predatory style. The first question that comes to mind while thinking about such incidents is that how many teeth do sharks have? The answer to this question varies, let’s get through the explanation below.

According to a report, many people become prey to unprovoked shark attacks every year, while some prove to be fatal. The year 2020 has witnessed 57 unprovoked shark attacks on humans around the world. Although It is the lowest number of attacks since 2008, 10 of these attacks were fatal, which is higher than previous years.

Man-Eating Reputation due to Numerous Rows of Teeth

You might wonder that we humans have teeth of a single row in both jaws, but the scenario is ghastly different in sharks due to multiple numbers of teeth in each row on both of their jaws. The number of teeth and rows varies due to differences in age and species of sharks, often ranging from 5 to 15 rows per jaw, while the bull shark may also have around 50 rows of teeth per jaw.

Amazing Ability to Produce and Replace Worn Out Teeth

Sharks are infamously known to produce over 20,000 teeth on average in life span, while recent estimates indicate that sharks may produce around 50000 teeth in their lifespan depending upon their type, diet and geographical location they are living in.

Before doing little math about the shark teeth let’s look for its other qualities. In contrast with human teeth, the shark’s teeth often fall out while attempting its prey since these are attached with soft issues and unlike humans the shark’s teeth depend upon its diet and feeding habits and do not contain roots.

How Many Teeth Do Sharks Have

Sharks also have the surprising ability to continuously produce teeth over and over again if broken or worn out, while in humans, our adult set comes when we lose a baby tooth and we don’t hold regenerative abilities. Shark’s teeth also come with built-in toothpaste. The outside surface of their teeth is made up of fluoride, a natural cavity fighter found in almost all kinds of toothpaste.

How many Teeth do Sharks have in a Whole Lifespan? 

Yes, the theoretical calculations show the sharks may produce around 50000 teeth in whole of their life.

Most of the sharks contain about 3000 teeth at a time and according to estimates, can lose up to 5 teeth per day. An average shark can lose about five teeth per day sums into 35 teeth per week, which turns out to be 1820 teeth per year. With these estimates, a shark with an average life span of 30 years may have to produce up to 54,600 teeth approximately to replace teeth amounting to broken teeth in its whole life.

There is an inborn complete set of teeth in sharks to feed themselves without parental care. In contrast, a born baby of human doesn’t come with pre-grown teeth and develops a set of 20 temporary teeth at age 2 to 3. By reaching the age of 18, humans have a complete set of 32 teeth in place.

Do Sharks have 3000 teeth?

The growth of teeth in sharks is different from that of humans. Shark’s teeth grow in multiple rows that ranges from 5 to 15 rows during certain period of their life. A Whale shark is the largest shark that has a whopping 3000 teeth at a time. The smaller teeth of the shark move backward with time and are replaced with new front teeth. The shark teeth possess regenerative ability once it lose the teeth.

How many teeth do sharks have on average?

The most common type of shark has 50 to 300 teeth on average. They often lose their teeth and keep getting their replacement very quickly. The rapid pace of replacement for broken or lost teeth makes sharks grow over 20,000 teeth in their lifespan

Do great white sharks have 3000 teeth?

The great white sharks may also have up to 3000 teeth set in their lifespan. The great white sharks usually have 5 rows of teeth during their life, of which the front row is most lethal and used for biting.

Do sharks have fangs?

 Shark’s teeth tend to have fangs and tend to grow in rows. The great white sharks are characterized to grow sharp and serrated teeth. These shark fangs are used to cut through the prey’s flesh and hold while the prey struggles. 

Do sharks have 50000 teeth?

A shark with an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years may lose 35 teeth a week, resulting in approximately 50000 teeth. The regenerative ability of sharks replaces the teeth quickly, so the sharks grow around 50000 teeth in their lifetime.

How much is a great white shark tooth worth?

The great white shark tooth remains in demand due to people’s interest in sharks either for making a new movie or documentary. As demand increases, so does the price. A single modern tooth of a great white shark can be worth $1000. The drawback of the rise in demand is that its tooth turns into a collectible that requires the killing of sharks due to its higher price.

Do Mako Sharks have teeth?

The mako shark teeth range in several hundred. These are pointy, knife life, sharp, thin and slightly tilted teeth that remains visible even when the mouth is closed. It is also known as ”blue pointer”. It is considered among very intelligent sharks with the largest brain-to-body ratio. The teeth are arranged in 12 to 13 rows in both jaws.

How Many Teeth Do Nurse Sharks Have?

Unlike many sharks equipped with needle-like 300 sharp teeth, the nurse sharp has just 58 to 76 teeth in its mouth. About 28 to 34 teeth protrude from the lower mandible, while the upper jaw consists of 30 to 42 teeth.

Humans Chew but Shark Don’t

Humans need to bite, grind and chew food, while sharks use their teeth to grab and rip their prey and swallow it entirely. It may not seem decent, but this is the way for sharks to get their done. Unfortunately, due to this violent activity, shark teeth tend to lose frequently.

How much Are small shark teeth worth?

Amazingly, a single shark’s teeth are worth 100$ to $300 depending upon the size as compared to $5 human teeth. The most expensive shark tooth ever sold was of Huge Cuban Megalodon Shark at price worth $11999 in December 2015. The Megalodon teeth remains intriguing for many collectors, as its single specimen could be 100,000 years old.

Development of shark teeth under Influence of its Diet

The shark teeth are of four types which are as follows:

  1. Needle like long and narrow teeth:

    In the sea area where sharks often find slippery fishes as prey, their teeth tend to evolve in the needle-like long and narrow teeth structure.

  2. Plate like teeth:

    The shark that dwells near the seabed, their teeth develops into a thick plate-like structure to grab and crush shells of mollusks and crustaceans that are a group of invertebrate animals.

  3. Sharp serrated teeth:

    Large predatory sharks contain serrated shark tooth made up of three layers of enameled tissues over hard dentine. Galeocerdo Cuvier, Prionace glauca, and Carcharodon cercarias sharks primarily consist of these types of serrated teeth as their edged weapons.

  4. Teeny Tiny teeth:

    Whale sharks possess a set of 3000 teeth with a size as small as a match head. The primary purpose of such teeth is not to grab and rip but to help swallow the prey as a whole into the huge stomach of the shark.

 

Read Also: Why Teeth Turn Yellow? 7 Remedies to Reverse Tooth Discoloration

Conclusion:

The shark’s teeth are not as strong as human’s and don’t contain roots. The growth of their teeth depends upon the type of their specie and dietary habits. Sharks contain 5 to 15 rows on average on each jaw and can contain 300 to 3000 teeth at a time. The shark loses its teeth daily while biting its prey but quickly gets its replacement due to its regenerative ability. This way, the sharks are believed to grow about 50000 teeth in their lifespan of 20 to 30 years.

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