All About Adult Human Teeth

You may start out with only twenty teeth as a baby, but by the time you reach adulthood you'll have a set of thirty-two. Take good care of these because they are the last natural set you get. If you ruin this set, it's dentures for you my friend.

Let's learn more about them.

This set of thirty-two are considered permanent, and are meant to last a lifetime. Each of these molars fall into one of three categories, each performing a specific function for your mouth.

1. The adult teeth in the front of your mouth are called incisors. These are used for biting into your food. Think of eating an apple, how your upper and lower front teeth dig in and break a piece away from the whole. That is the job incisors perform.

Your upper and lower jaw each have four incisors, so that's eight out of thirty-two accounted for.

2. Next to your incisors are your canines. These get their name from their resemblance to a dog's fangs. Canines do the tearing of food for the mouth. Think about eating ribs and how you tear the meat away from the bone. That's the job your canines do.

Your upper and lower jaws each have two canines, one on either side of your sets of four incisors. Add these four and we've now accounted for twelve out of the thirty-two.

3. Molars are our last group. They are divided into two groups, bicuspids and molars. Bicuspids have two distinct points, while molars are large and flat. These do all the grinding for our mouth. Think about chewing nuts. These large flat molars grind our food and mix it with saliva to aid digestion.

Your upper and lower jaws each have four pre-molars and six molars. Add these twenty, and we have now accounted for all thirty-two adult human teeth.

Each adult tooth has a shiny outer layer made of enamel, which covers the next layer known as the dentine. This layer makes up most of the adult human tooth and is mainly composed of calcium and phosphorus. The inner portion of the tooth contains the pulp, a soft material containing the nerve of the adult tooth. Finally, the roots anchor the adult human tooth into the jaw bone.

Your teeth are covered with a hard white material called enamel.

The tooth is fixed into the bony jaw socket and held in place by cement.

The tooth is kept alive by a supply of blood and nerves.

Now you know all about adult human teeth.

Also read our article about Teeth on the Decline!