Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans
By Bill Schutt
This is the second book that I’ve read by author Bill Schutt, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first book I read, Pump: A Natural History of the Heart. As I had mentioned in my review of Pump, I wish I had had Dr Schutt as a professor when I was studying for my Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology degree because he would have made what could have been a dull and complex subject mind-blowing fun.
This time, Dr. Schutt looks at teeth and how the addition of teeth (or some other kind of mechanism to grind or tear apart food) afforded vertebrates the ability to be able to exploit the food in their environment. Teeth can also be used as defensive weapons. As a new cat mom to several kittens, I can personally attest to the fact that itty bitty kitten teeth are lethal.
Of course, I was most interested in the evolution of human teeth and how, over the many millennia, human jaws have gotten smaller, leaving little room for the third set of molars, the wisdom teeth. I didn’t have my wisdom teeth removed until I was in my fifties and sixties and that was probably a mistake because removing the bottom wisdom teeth left me in agony for weeks. Fair warning: get your wisdom teeth removed while young and before they’ve had a chance to entrench themselves in your jaw.
I really enjoyed reading Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans though I found the book’s beginning chapters on vampire bats to be a bit long and slow to read. Once I got past that part of the book, it picked up and I really enjoyed reading all about teeth, especially the early attempts of false teeth (contrary to popular belief, George Washington did not have wooden teeth). If you find the section about false teeth to be of interest, do check out Paul Craddock’s book Spare Parts: The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery, which I reviewed and also enjoyed.
I would recommend Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans to anyone who has an interest in science or a casual interest in developmental biology. Dr. Schutt has made the subject very accessible and fun to read.
4/5 stars
[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion, which I have given here.]