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Biting is an action involving a set of teeth closing down on an object. It is a common zoological behavior, being found in toothed animals such as , , , , and . Biting is also an action humans participate in, most commonly when chewing food. Myocytic contraction of the muscles of mastication is responsible for generating the force that initiates the preparatory jaw abduction (opening), then rapidly adducts (closes) the jaw and moves the top and bottom teeth towards each other, resulting in the forceful action of a bite. Biting is one of the main functions in the lives of larger organisms, providing them the ability to forage, predation, eat, build, play, fight, parental care, and much more. Biting may be a form of physical aggression due to predatory or territorial intentions. In animals, biting can also be a normal activity, being used for eating, scratch reflex, carrying objects, preparing food for young, removing ectoparasites or irritating foreign objects, and social grooming. Humans can have the tendency to bite each other whether they are children or adults.
Bites often result in serious , avulsion injury, , , , envenomation, and death. In modern human societies, dog bites are the most common type of bite, with children being the most common victims and faces being the most common target. Some other species that may bite humans include urban animals such as , , and . Other common bites to humans are inflicted by Hematophagy insects and arthropods, such as , , lice, , and (whose "bites" are actually a form of stinging rather than true biting).
/ref> In general, tooth shape has traditionally been used to predict dieting habits. Carnivores have long, extremely sharp teeth for both gripping prey and cutting meat into chunks. They lack flat chewing teeth because they swallow food in chunks. An example of this is shown by the broad, serrated teeth of great white sharks which prey on large marine animals. On the other hand, herbivores have rows of wide, flat teeth to bite and chew grass and other plants. Cows spend up to eleven hours a day biting off grass and grinding it with their molars. Omnivores consume both meat and plants, so they possess a mixture of flat teeth and sharp teeth.
Humans biting each other can cause a number of diseases with streptococci, staphylococci, and anaerobic organisms being very severe causing infections. These bites are typically deep cutting into the skin where the infection forms.
There are several creatures with non-lethal bites that may cause discomfort or diseases. Mosquito bites may cause allergic wheals that are and may last a few days; in some areas, they can spread blood-borne diseases (e.g. malaria and West Nile fever) via transmission of protozoic or virus . "Mosquito Bites", Mayo Clinic, accessed 28 June 2019 Similarly, tick bites spread diseases endemic to their location, most famously Lyme disease, but ticks also serve as for Colorado tick fever, African tick bite fever, Tick-borne encephalitis, etc. "Tickborne Diseases of the United States", The Center for Disease Control, accessed 28 June 2019
Criminally, Forensic Dentistry is involved in bite-mark analysis. Due to bite-marks change significantly over time, investigators must call for an expert as soon as possible. Bites are then analyzed to determine whether the biter was human, self-inflicted or not, and whether DNA was left behind from the biter. All measurements must be extremely precise, as small errors in measurement can lead to large errors in legal judgment.Shanna Freeman, "How Forensic Dentistry Works", How Stuff Works, accessed 28 June 2019
Here follows an example of human bite on a right forearm, with its evolution and a view of the teeth:
Human bites have historically been viewed superstitiously, particularly in the American South where there was once a common belief that the bite of a "blue-gum negro" (i.e., a Black person with darkly pigmented gums) was lethally poisonous.
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