Dental Health Magazine Dental Health Digital Issue | Page 12

12
Issue #5, March 2017
3 types of teeth and their functions
Each type of tooth has its own role in either baby tooth or permanent tooth. Normally
they are classified into 3 groups:
Incisor
Incisor helps to tear food into pieces. With the help of masticatory muscle, incisor uses
its edge to tear the food into pieces. There are 4central incisorsand 4 lateral incisors.
The 2 lowercentral incisors usually erupt first, quickly followed by the 2 uppercentral.
Once these teeth have erupted, you can expect to see the teeth on either side of
the central incisors coming through next, often 2 at a time. These are lateral incisors.
Canine
Canines are sharper with longer roots embedded in the jaw. Therefore, they are able
to withstand higher force.There are four canines, 2at the top and 2 at the bottom.
Molar
When food is torn by incisors and canines, they are being transferred by the tongue to
molar region for grinding. Molars have lots of pits and fissures that aid in grinding and
resulting in good and effective digestion. The premolars and molars arecollectively
known for grinding. We have eight premolars and 8 to 12 molars.
Hopefully through this article, parents now have a better idea of their children’s teeth.
This article is written and contributed by Dr. Tiew Soon Tat
Source: dentistsnearby.com