Classification of Teeth and mouth

Brachyodont teeth 

• found in carnivores, humans, pigs, and also ruminant incisors.

• have small crowns and well-developed roots.

• do not grow continually.

Hypsodont teeth 

• found in horses’ incisors and cheek teeth, boars’ canine teeth, rodents, and lagomorphs.

• have a large reserve of crown beneath the gingiva.

• grow continually.

Deciduous Teeth (baby teeth)

All domestic species have two sets of teeth: deciduous and permanent (adult teeth.)

• smaller and whiter.

• present in the jaw at birth.

• erupt through the gums at different times, depending on species.

Tongue

Muscular structure on the ventral surface in the oral cavity.

• Papillae are located on the dorsal surface.

• mechanical functions such as grooming 

• moving food into the pharynx.

• Specialized functions 

•  taste sensations, pain, temperature, touch, and thermoregulation through panting (dogs)

Saliva

• deposited into the oral cavity via ducts.

• production varies depending on species.

• composition: watery, viscous, or mixed.

•  mainly made of water, protein, electrolytes, antibodies, glycoproteins, other organic molecules, salivary bicarbonate, enzymes, lysozyme, and amylase.

Functions of saliva

•  Lubrication,

• antibacterial action

•  pH regulation

•  Thermoregulation

•  enzymatic digestion.

• Saliva is secreted by 3 main paired glands: parotid, mandibular, and sublingual.

Temporomandibular Joint

The connection between

•  the condylar process of the mandible 

• mandibular fossa of the temporal bone.

Movements 

• extension, flexion, and translation.

(Dietary preference influences the extent of translation.)

Pharynx (throat)

part of both the GI tract and the respiratory tract.

• Nasopharynx

• oropharynx

• Swallowing sends food from the oral cavity to the esophagus.

Structures found here:

•  Eustachian tube 

•  Tonsils

• epiglottis

Esophagus

• muscular tube connecting the pharynx to the stomach.

• It is lined with folded mucosa and musculature

• Cardiac sphincter located at most distal end