A beaver’s teeth are its most useful tool, as it spends most of its time gnawing down wood and using it to construct dams.However, if beavers use their teeth so much, how come they never break? What makes them so much harder and more resilient than human teeth?Beavers are considered the engineers of the natural world, and their ability to build elaborate dams on the water and colonies from only wood is quite amazing. There are two main species of beaver, the North American beaver and the Eurasian beaver, both of which are brown in color and have orange teeth. To learn more about these astonishing animals and their terrific teeth, read on!How many teeth do beavers have?Beavers have a total of 20 teeth in their powerful jaws. The ones which stand out the most are the four incisors at the very front, two at the bottom, and the other two are placed at the top. These teeth are unusually long, a bright reddish-orange color, and very often poke out of beavers’ mouths.The larger teeth help to gnaw through tree branches, as well as help strip trees of the tough outer bark so that they can eat the softer wood pulp inside. Similar to human teeth, beavers have wider teeth called molars towards the back which help when chewing their food. Beavers usually eat tree bark, as well as the wood underneath. Their favorite trees to eat are birch, poplar, willow, maple, and aspen which can be found near water bodies like lakes and rivers.How strong are their teeth?A beaver’s teeth are very strong and resilient. Unlike human teeth, which are meant only for chewing, a beaver’s teeth are meant for constantly gnawing and cutting away at tough tree trunks and branches.These rodents are always hard at work, especially during the fall season, when they are busy strengthening their colonies and collecting food for the winter. The reason their teeth are so strong is credited to the high level of iron present in the enamel, which helps keep them sharp as well. The outer enamel covering has more iron than the inside, which is soft and wears away easily. The reason the inside enamel wears away so easily is that otherwise, their teeth would break because of the pressure, causing pain to beavers.How sharp are beaver teeth?A beaver’s teeth are insanely sharp. Its teeth can cut through the toughest wood, however, they are not indestructible.A beaver’s teeth are self-sharpening, which is how they stay sharp throughout a beaver’s life. As this rodent’s teeth are constantly growing, this animal has to constantly chew something as the teeth grow, so that they wear down and the length remains manageable. If its teeth keep growing, the beaver will be unable to close its mouth, leaving it unable to chew its food which can lead to starvation.As a beaver chews, the softer enamel inside wears away, which leaves a layer of sharp enamel on the outside, which helps it to mow down trees and branches used for the construction of its dams. The rate of growth becomes noticeably slower from summer to early fall, as this is when a beaver concentrates more on feeding to increase its fat content for the winter. A beaver’s teeth can grow as much as 4 ft (1.2 m) in a year, which is longer than the length of the animal itself! A beaver’s teeth will keep growing throughout its life.What is the color of beaver teeth?The most astonishing thing about the teeth of this animal is probably their color! According to researchers, this is due to the fact that beavers have iron as a prominent mineral in their teeth structure while other rodents have a larger amount of magnesium.The iron present in their teeth helps them to easily cut through rough wood. The iron present in the layers of enamel prevents breakage while gnawing and chewing, which is what beavers spend most of their time doing! It also makes them more resistant to any acids, which can otherwise cause tooth damage. However, only the front teeth have enamel on them. These are the teeth that come into contact with tough surfaces the most. The back teeth are covered with soft dentin, which wears away very fast when it comes into contact with any surface. This helps prevent breakage against pressure as well as creates a natural angle for the teeth, keeping them sharp!
A beaver’s teeth are its most useful tool, as it spends most of its time gnawing down wood and using it to construct dams.
