Dental Anatomy and Types of Teeth

Teeth

• Teeth are present in the upper and lower jaws of the mouth.
• They help us to:
  • Smile.
  • Bite and chew food.
  • Speak clearly.
  • Give proper shape to the face.
• Properly chewed food is fine and gets digested properly.
• It is vital to take care of teeth.

Sets of Teeth

• Babies are born without teeth.
• Teeth start appearing around six months old.
• A three-year-old child has twenty teeth.
• This first set of teeth is called milk teeth or temporary teeth.
• As a child grows, milk teeth start falling down, and new teeth start appearing.
• By the age of twenty, a new set of teeth is developed, called permanent teeth.
• Most adults have a full set of permanent teeth containing 32 teeth, 16 in each jaw.

Different Kinds of Teeth

• There are four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.

  • Incisors: Help us to cut and bite food. There are four incisors in each jaw.
  • Canines: Sharp, pointed teeth used for tearing food.
  • Premolars: Broad teeth used for crushing food.
  • Molars: Used for grinding food.

• Tooth distribution:

  • Upper jaw:
    • Central incisor
    • Lateral incisor
    • Canine
    • First premolar
    • Second premolar
    • First molar
    • Second molar
    • Third molar
  • Lower jaw:
    • Central incisor
    • Lateral incisor
    • Canine
    • First premolar
    • Second premolar
    • First molar
    • Second molar
    • Third molar

Structure of a Tooth

• A tooth is made of two parts: hard and soft.
  • The crown is the visible white part of the tooth.
  • The part of the tooth inside the gums is called the root- Not specified in transcript
  • Enamel is the hardest substance in our body. It protects the tooth. Below the enamel is dentin, which is also very hard.