Tooth

:This page discusses bony structures used for chewing and eating. For tooth care, see oral hygiene. For the engineering sense of "tooth", see "gear"

Related Topics:
Oral hygiene - Gear

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Types of teeth

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• Molars are used for grinding up foods
• Carnassials are used for slicing food. In carnivores only.
• Premolars are similar to molars but smaller and sometimes called "bicuspids"
• Canines are used for tearing apart foods and sometimes called "cuspids"
• Incisors are used for cutting foods

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Teeth—singular tooth—are hard structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates. They have various structures to allow them to fulfill their many different purposes. The primary function of teeth is to tear and chew food and in some animals, particularly carnivores, as a weapon. The roots of the teeth are covered by gums. Teeth are covered by a protective structure, called the enamel, that helps to prevent cavities on the teeth. Adult teeth naturally darken as the person matures, the pulp within the tooth shrinks and dentin is deposited in its place.

Related Topics:
Jaw - Vertebrate - Food - Carnivore - Gum - Enamel - Pulp - Dentin

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The form teeth take and their mode of development in a species is called the species' dentition. Dentists sometimes refer to the inner surface of teeth as the lingual surface (meaning towards the tongue), and the outer surface as the labial surface (meaning towards the lips) or "buccal" (meaning towards the cheek). Other terms are mesial (toward the midline), distal (away from the midline), occlusal (the top surface), incisal (the cutting surface), "gingival" (toward the gumline), and "pulpal" (toward the center).

Related Topics:
Dentition - Dentists - Tongue - Lips

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Types of tissue in teeth

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In Humans

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• Enamel is a hard outer layer consisting of calcium and phosphate.
• Dentin is the inner layer, the bulk of the tooth.
• Pulp is the core, containing nerves and blood vessels.
• Cementum is the thin layer around the root; a bone-like material which connects the teeth to the jaw.

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In Aardvarks

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• Teeth lack enamel and have many pulp tubules, hence the name of the order Tubulidentata.

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Teeth are among the most distinctive features of different mammal species, and one that fossilizes well. Paleontologists use them to identify fossil species and, often, their relationships. The shape of the teeth is related to the animal's diet, as well as its evolutionary descent. For example, plant matter is hard to digest, so herbivores have many molars for chewing. Carnivores need canines to kill and tear and since meat is easy to digest, they can swallow without the need for molars to chew the food well.

Related Topics:
Mammal - Fossilizes - Paleontologists - Evolutionary - Herbivore - Chewing - Carnivore

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Tooth: Human teeth ►