Types of Teeth, teeth names, and functions

Teeth overview

Teeth are the essential part of the body for eating food,  speaking, smiling, etc. There are many different types of teeth with different names. It’s one of the strongest parts of the human body and is made up of Enamel, Dentin, Cementum, and Pulp. Are Teeth Bones? Let’s understand the Human tooth anatomical diagram given below and learn in detail.

Let’s see how many types of teeth and the number of teeth are present in individuals.

Types of Teeth and Teeth names

In children, 20 teeth are present and these are known as deciduous teeth or primary teeth and also known as milk teeth or baby teeth. Children have mainly three types of teeth, 8 Incisors, 4 Canines, and 8 Molars; premolars are not present in infants. Tooth Eruption starts with lower central incisors. Later primary or deciduous teeth are replaced by permanent teeth.

An average adult human has 32 teeth in his/her mouth and these are permanent teeth or succedaneous teeth. There are mainly four types of teeth present in adult humans. 8 Incisors, 4 Canines, 8 Premolars, and 12 Molars (including Wisdom teeth).

Also read : Tooth Eruption Chart with Eruption age

Functions of Teeth

As we discussed, adult humans have 32 permanent teeth and children have 20 milk teeth or deciduous teeth at the age of 3 years.

1. Incisors teeth

These are your front teeth or anterior teeth. Every individual has a total of 8 incisors and has two types of incisor teeth, 2 central incisors and 2 lateral incisors on each side in the upper and lower jaw.

Incisors are flat and have sharp edges (chisel shaped) to bite into the food and cut it in smaller pieces.

2. Canines teeth

There are 4 canines in total, 1-1 canine on each side in the upper and lower jaw. They are sharp pointed teeth and are mostly used for tearing down food items.

3. Premolar teeth

Premolars are 8 in total, 2-2 premolars on each side in the upper and lower jaw. They are mainly used for cutting and grinding food items. Premolars are absent in children.

4. Molar teeth

Molar teeth are 12 in total in adults and 8 in number in children. Children have 2-2 molars on each side in the upper and lower jaw and adults have 3-3 molars (including Wisdom teeth, last 3rd molar tooth) on each side in the upper and lower jaw. 3rd Molars or Wisdom teeth are absent in children.

Wisdom teeth or 3rd molars are the last teeth in the mouth, mostly they are not functional and not used for chewing food. Not all people may have wisdom teeth as sometimes it’s covered by gums or gingival tissue and not erupted in the oral cavity (mouth) also known as an impacted wisdom tooth. This causes pain in the movement of the wisdom tooth.

To know the position of wisdom teeth, a radiographic examination is required. Many times, wrongly positioned wisdom teeth damage the tooth close to it, and in some cases it causes pain; in those cases, removal of wisdom teeth is advised. Because these teeth are none functional, they won’t affect your normal chewing of food.

Molars are the largest teeth and have large surface areas to help them to chew and grind food to make it smaller and facilitate swallowing it.

Summing up

Teeth are an essential part of our body that not just helps in eating food but also helps in speaking certain words, so it is important to take care of your teeth because the illness of single teeth makes you uncomfortable in your day-to-day activities. What can you do for healthy teeth? You can follow Oral hygiene practices for Healthy teeth.

Frequently asked questions

I hope you get an idea about your Types of teeth, their names, and their functions. Share this information with your friends and family to make them aware of it. Don’t forget to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram.