The Guinness World Records is the ultimate authority on record-breaking achievement.
The book is published annually and the long-running TV show was a hit for many generations. A favourite source of questions for pub quizzes, the Guinness World Records documents all human achievements and the extremes of the natural world, but here, it’s world-breaking dentistry we are interested in.
We highlight some of the records clocked up and documented over the years that have anything – or everything – to do with teeth.
• Guinness World Records 2011 is available in bookshops now.
Heaviest ship pulled by teeth
Omar Hanapiev from Russia pulled the 576-tonne (1,269,861lb) tanker Gunib a distance of 15m (49ft 2.4in) using a rope connected only to his teeth, on
9 November 2001 at Makhachkala, Russia.
Most people flossing on the same length of floss
A total of 1,470 students, parents and teachers from Lake Norman Elementary School and Brawley Middle School (USA) flossed their teeth for 55 seconds on a single line of dental floss measuring 1,828.8m (6,000ft) at Lake Norman Elementary School, Mooresville, North Carolina, US, on 19 March 2004.
Largest toothpick sculpture
The largest toothpick sculpture is an alligator named Alley, made by American Michael Smith, which contained more than three million toothpicks, was
4.5m (15ft) long, and weighed 132.4kg (292lb) when measured at Galvez Middle School, Prairieville, Louisiana, US, on 22 March 2005.
Largest tube of toothpaste
The largest tube of toothpaste measures 2,957m (9.7ft) long and weighs 780kg (1,719lb). It was made for the Zhonghua toothpaste brand by Unilever in Shanghai City, China, and was unveiled on 20 September 2005.
Most people brushing their teeth
The most people brushing their teeth simultaneously in a single venue is 13,380. The event was arranged by Colgate Palmolive (Central América) Inc. at the Cuscatlán Stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 5 November 2005.
