This is what I have ALWAYS wondered. It would make so much sense if we got another set of teeth every 20 years or so. I know, I know–another set wasn’t needed back when life expectancy was only 30 or so, and evolution is a slow process. But teeth seem to wear out or need repair faster than just about every other body part (Fingernails are an obvious exception.)–maybe not a design flaw but a material one.
Of course, you might look pretty stupid missing your two front teeth at, say, age 47, but then everybody would be missing teeth at about the same age, so maybe you wouldn’t look so odd after all. People wouldn’t need dentures, and there would be fewer root canals and lower demand for tooth whitening products.
There have been reported cases of people with third sets of teeth that erupted later in life, btw. Not common, but it appears to be genetic.
My son is missing his adult eye teeth (something a dentist caught when he was 6 or so, asking, “who else in the family is missing their eye teeth?” Turns out, one of his cousins on his father’s side was as well.)
I have always assumed that baby teeth served the important function of place holding for the perm. teeth…heard this from dentists when justifying leaving a stubborn baby tooth alone for a while or performing extensive bridges and caps on baby teeth (one of my nephews had a mouth full of rotted teeth by age 2, both as a result of drinking apple juice in a bottle constantly and some antibiotics his mother had to take during pregnancy because his dick of a father gave her VD at the same time he impregnated her :mad:)…At any rate, having teeth in those spots until the adult ones start coming in apparently helps keep everything from shifting around too much.
