Types of Teeth
There are four types of teeth in the mouth:
1) Incisors
- There are 8 incisors in both the primary and permanent dentition and can be found at the very front of the mouth.
- There are 4 incisors in the top jaw and 4 in the lower jaw
- The two teeth at the very front in the top jaw and the two teeth at the very front in the lower jaw are known as "central incisors". The slightly smaller teeth next to these are known as "lateral incisors"
- They have a sharp flat edge for cutting food
- Incisors have only one root
2) Canines
- There are 4 canines in both the primary and permanent dentition. 2 in the top jaw and 2 in the lower jaw
- Canines are sharp and pointy and are sometimes known as "fang teeth"
- They are used for tearing foods such as meat
- Canines have only one, very long root
3) Premolars
- There are 8 premolars in the permanent dentition - 4 first premolars and 4 second premolars
- They sit behind the canines but in front of the molars
- Most premolars have only 1 root but the first premolars in the top jaw have 2 roots
- There are no premolars in the primary dentition
4) Molars
- There are 8 molars in the primary dentition and 12 molars in the permanent dentition (including all 4 wisdom teeth)
- The molars closest to the front of the mouth are known as "first permanent molars", the ones behind these are "second permanent molars" and the ones behind this are "third permanent molars" (more commonly known as wisdom teeth)
- Molars are found at the very back of the mouth
- They have large flat biting surfaces which are used to grind food
- Molars in the lower jaw have 2 roots, and molars in the upper jaw have 3 roots. Wisdom teeth are an exception to this rule
The teeth in our mouth are split into 4 parts, or quadrants.
In a complete primary dentition, each quadrant has 5 teeth (2 incisors, 1 canine and 2 molars). So altogether that's 8 incisors, 4 canines and 8 molars (20 teeth in total).
In a complete permanent dentition, each quadrant has 8 teeth (2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars and 3 molars). So altogether that's 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars and 12 molars (32 teeth in total).