Different Tooth Types and What They Do
If there is one area of the body that can be easily neglected, it is our teeth. Despite the propensity to forget about these tools, they perform every day tasks such as eating, smiling and speaking. However, not all teeth are made the same.
A tooth is typically divided into the visible, white crown and the unviewable crown. However, there are different kinds of teeth, and each type serves a specific role. Here are the different types of teeth that are present in your mouth and what their function is.
Biting, Smiling and Talking With Incisors
Being the first kind of adult teeth to grow, incisors are what typically make up the majority of our smile. In total, there are eight incisors in the mouth, with four on top and four at the bottom. Typically, they are thin and flat, and this helps tremendously when it comes to helping us take our first bite in food. Using your incisors, we gradually bite into our food, and the tugging and pulling that takes place inside the mouth are altered by the incisors as well. They also have a noticeable jagged edge, which helps with cutting. Due to their prevalence in smiling and talking, your incisors are typically hard to miss.
Cuspids, or the "K9"
Cuspids are commonly referred to as canines because this kind of tooth closely resembles that of a carnivore. These are the teeth with the sharp edges pointed on either side of the incisor that is used to tear into food and rip it apart. This kind of tooth is usually permanent once one turns ten years old. They can also help guide the food and put the other teeth in the best position to gradually bite the food. The primary function of cuspids is to eat, differing it from the more versatile incisor.
The Main Masticator: The Molar
Chewing is most commonly associated with the molars. Molars are large teeth that have a flatter surface that can be used to chew food into small pieces that we can swallow. There are actually different kinds of molars as well. There are premolars, which is the first molar teeth that appear at around our pre-teen years. The premolar is also used for tearing and crushing food. They can be identified with their flat biting surface.
There is also our wisdom teeth, referred to as our third molars because they are the last teeth to form in the mouth. Commonly, the wisdom tooth is often removed because they sit toward the back of the jaw and can cause dental issues if they are not removed.