# teeth and permanancy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-and-permanancy/130399 "2002-10-01T15:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-and-permanancy/130399/1 "2002-10-01T15:06:41Z")
Apparently this was a “baby” post. Don’t despair, just place the post under your pillow. Overnight the Post Fairy will take the old post away and replace it with a shiny quarter. And in several months a new, “adult” or “permanent” post will grow into the old one’s place. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-and-permanancy/130399/2 "2002-10-01T15:08:24Z")
Oh no! hamsters! I asked why don’t our teeth last a lifetime? I only have 6 on the bottom. Is it faithful brushing or genetics? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-and-permanancy/130399/3 "2002-10-01T15:09:46Z")
Shib: That was excellent.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2002, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-and-permanancy/130399/4 "2002-10-01T15:15:37Z")
Many folks’ teeth do last their lifetime. It’s a combination of diet, hygiene (which needs to include more than brushing), and genetics. Also keep in mind that the lifetime they were designed for was probably less than 40 years.