Compared with other mammals (like dogs and bears), humans don't have the strongest bite. Scientists measure the amount of pressure exerted by an animal's bite in pounds per square inch (psi). The human bite force is 162 psi.
The average human bite force is between 120-160 PSI (pounds per square inch). However, this pales in comparison to many wild animals, many of which use their teeth not only to chew, but also to grip and tear.
Although we have a bite force stronger than some of our other primate relatives, the average human bite force is 162psi. That means the Nile crocodile, at the top of our list, has a bite force of over 30 times more powerful than a human!
If you were to bite through bone, you'd have to fracture the bone and then rip it off. That would definitely be harder to do,” Desai says.
The Human Bite Is Extremely Efficient
Humans have less jaw muscle mass than gorillas and chimpanzees. However, this reduced mass doesn't mean reduced strength. It indicates increased efficiency. In fact, the design of the human jaw makes it 40-50% more efficient than a primate's.
rex—about 35,000 newtons— or to the puny biting power of humans: 300 newtons. Previous bite force estimates for juvenile T. rexes—based on reconstruction of the jaw muscles or from mathematically scaling down the bite force of adult T. rexes—were considerably less, about 4,000 newtons.
This allows scientists to compare the bite forces of different animals and learn more about how different traits, such as jaw size and tooth shape, affect bite force. Humans have weak jaws to eat cooked food. Weaker jaws also provide more space for a large brain.
Pain, bleeding, numbness and tingling may occur with any human bite. Symptoms from bites may be mild to severe, including: Breaks or major cuts in the skin, with or without bleeding.
Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, leading one to question why humans do not have an armor-like hide composed of this amazing organic substance.
In 1956, tests were conducted on cadavers to determine the force needed to successfully sever a finger and scientists discovered that it takes about 1,485 newtons just to cause fractures.
Strength changes
Compared to our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, Homo sapiens' skeletal muscle is on average about 1.35 to 1.5 times weaker when normalized for size.
MODERN HUMANS CAN BITE off more than apes can chew, according to new research. Australian scientists have found that the relatively light human skull has a far more efficient bite compared to the jaws of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.
Our second molars can exert a bite force between 1,100 and 1,300 Newtons, beating the orang-utan, gibbon and Australopithecus but lagging behind the gorilla, chimp and Paranthropus. These forces are roughly what you'd expect for a primate of our size.
7 -- Pressure, in PSI, that a swimmer feels at the bottom of a 16-foot-deep pool. 60-70 -- Water pressure, in PSI, of a typical municipal water system. 70 -- Pressure, in PSI, of the typical human jaw chewing food. More than 700 -- Pressure, in PSI, at which a human can grind his or her teeth at night.
Hippopotamus (2,000 PSI)
Adult gray wolves have an impressive set of teeth, and their jaws are incred- ibly strong. A human's bite force is only about 120 pounds per square inch, and a large domestic dog's is about 320 pounds per square inch—but the bite force of a wolf is almost 400 pounds of pressure per square inch!
Human bites are often more dangerous than animal bites because the human mouth has more bacteria in it than most animals' mouths. It is very easy for a human bite to become infected.
The "winners"—saltwater crocodiles—slammed their jaws shut with 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), or 16,460 newtons, of bite force. By contrast, you might tear into a steak with 150 to 200 psi (890 newtons). Hyenas, lions, and tigers generate around 1,000 psi (4,450 newtons).
Are human jaws powerful enough to bite off (completely sever) an appendage like a finger? Possible, like a finger or toe, given the size of the appendage bone, and such is less dense than the dentine enamel of human teeth (the strongest bone).
A human bite can break, puncture, or tear the skin. Bites that break the skin can be very serious because of the risk for infection.
Human bites can be as dangerous as or even more dangerous than animal bites because of the types of bacteria and viruses contained in the human mouth. Human bites that break the skin can become infected.
What to Expect: Most scratches, scrapes and other minor bites heal up fine in 5 to 7 days. Bruises should fade away in 7-14 days.
In August 1986, Richard Hofmann (b. 1949) of Lake City, Florida, USA, achieved a bite strength of 442 kg (975 lb) for approximately 2 sec in a research test using a gnathodynamometer at the College of Dentistry, University of Florida, USA. This figure is more than six times the normal biting strength.
But the largest individuals can exert a massive 1.8 tonnes with their jaws, giving them one of the most powerful bites of any living animal. The jaws exert over three times more force than the 560kg exerted by a large lion, and 20 times more than the 80kg a feeble human jawbone can manage.
When severe, the TMJ can painfully "lock," and the person is unable to move their jaw until the joint is realigned, which can at times require surgery. These issues can occur in association with bruxism, excessive jaw clenching, jaw trauma, and at times without any clear cause.