Largest dental caps
The world’s largest dental caps measure approximately 50cm (19in) long, 13 cm (5in) in diameter and weigh 13 kg (28 lb) each.
They were fixed onto a pair of cracked tusks belonging to Spike, a resident Asian elephant at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada, during a 3hr 30min operation on 4 July 2002.
The stainless steel caps were designed and manufactured by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology with metal donated by Corus Steel and adhesive by 3M.
More dental adhesive was used in this one proceedure than all the dentists in Canada used collectively throughout 2001!
The dental caps have been a success in preventing further cracking and infection of the tusks and in replacing the third that was missing and they are now almost as long as his original tusks, which were 94cm (37in) long.
Spike originally cracked only his left tusk, after playing with tyres, but in order to keep him balanced, the caps were fitted to both.
Although it is not unusual for caps to be fitted to tusks, these are the largest manufactured to date.
World’s oldest dentist
Dr Etsuro Watanabe has been recognised as the oldest dentist (male) at 99 years and 133 days old.
Watanabe was born on 31 October 1924 in Oshino Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.
At the age of 15, he moved to Tokyo to become an apprentice at a dental practice and attended school at night.
In 1944, he was called up for military service, which took him to China. There, he worked as a combat medic.
A year after the end of the war, he returned to Japan and started working as a dental technician.
He entered a dental college in 1947 and successfully passed a national dentist exam four years later.
After a few years of working with other dentists, he came back to his hometown of Oshino and opened his own practice in 1953.
Because he was the only dental clinic in the village, hehad no problem finding patients and even had to make his patients’ dentures himself as there were no laboratories.
Largest dental hospital
The largest dental hospital is 37,165.12sq – 400,042.022sq ft – and was achieved by King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 30 October 2023 on the expansion of its dental hospital.
Largest dental health check
The largest dental health check covered 21,233 people and was achieved by Dr Sridhar Oral Health Foundation, the Indian Red Cross Society, at Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada, India, on 5 December 2018.
The check happened between 9.15am-6.15pm.
Largest collection of human dental casts
The largest collection of human dental casts is 3,659 and was achieved by Rosemeire Aparecida Marques in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, on 8 October 2023.
Rosemeire is a dentist and has built the collection during her 30-year career.
Most-expensive false teeth sold at auction
A set of dentures that once belonged to wartime British prime minister, Winston Churchill, sold for £15,200 to an anonymous bidder on 29 July 2010.
The auction was organized by Keys fine-art auctioneers in Aylsham, Norfolk and the sale price was three times the estimated price.
The dentures were specially created for Churchill to preserve his characteristic lisp, a familiar feature of his wartime broadcasts.
They were sold by Nigel Cudlipp; his father, Derek Cudlipp, was the dental technician who had originally constructed the teeth.
First Bluetooth-enabled dental implants
Cyborg artists Neil Harbisson (UK) and Moon Ribas (Spain) each have a bluetooth-enabled tooth implant, dubbed ‘WeTooth’, which they can use to communicate with each other.
When pressure is applied, the implants emit a signal which causes the other to vibrate via smartphone app, allowing Harbisson and Ribas to communicate using Morse code.
The WeTooth was developed at a meet-up of like-minded cyborg enthusiasts and researchers in São Paulo, Brazil, in September 2016 and the implanting was performed by dental surgeon, Thiago Avelar.
Oldest female patient to receive dental implants
The oldest female patient to receive dental implants is Ruth Pawowitz (USA), who was 103 years and 63 days old, as verified in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, on 17 October 2023.
The procedure, performed by Dr Ali Nili, involved placing a titanium dental implant within the bone at the lower canine #27 position.
Most people brushing their teeth
The most people brushing their teeth simultaneously is 26,382 and was achieved by Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry, Colgate-Palmolive India, and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India, on 7 November 2019.
The event was organised with the aim of promoting dental hygiene and development of life-long oral care habits.
First set of teeth used in the identification of a deceased person
After inheriting additional lands, Charles the Bold (1433–1477) aka the Duke of Burgundy, France, planned to create an independent state between France and Germany.
This decision created a great deal of tension, armed conflict ensued and Charles was killed in the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477.
Although his body had been badly mutilated and had laid in the field of battle for three days, the Duke’s page was able to identify Charles according to his dentition owing to the fact that he had lost some teeth in a fall years previously.
This is the first accounted record of a deceased person being formally identified by known dental records.