Every type of tooth serves a unique purpose. Do you know what these types of teeth are made for?
Your teeth can form a beautiful smile, but they also provide a far more essential function: chewing. Without your teeth, dentists stress that you wouldn’t be able to chew your food into small enough pieces for swallowing. Also, different types of permanent teeth perform different duties. The following article describes four types of teeth:
Incisors
Your incisors are the first teeth to erupt during infancy and childhood. When the permanent teeth start coming in around six years of age, eight incisors total will emerge from the front of your mouth—four on top and four on bottom. When it comes to the aesthetic appeal of your smile, your incisors are by far your most conspicuous teeth. If chipped, crooked, or stained, your incisors can greatly affect the look of your smile. The incisors are also the teeth that make first contact with food, tearing off bites into chewable sizes.
Canines
Your canines are the next teeth to erupt. Most people have four total canines, with two on top and two on the bottom. The incisors lie right next to the incisors for good reason. Once the incisors have torn off a bite of food from its source, the canines go to work tearing it into even smaller pieces.
Premolars
You also have eight total premolars. These teeth replace the baby molars. The permanent premolars typically arrive around the age of ten and help mince food into easily digestible bites. This may not be problematic for softer foods like bread or bananas, but premolars allow tougher and more fibrous foods like peanuts or celery to be ground down for swallowing without the risk of choking.
Molars
The molars come in behind all the baby teeth. The first set comes in around age six and the second set around age 12. Like the premolars, the molars function primarily to shred food into safe, small pieces for swallowing and digestion.
Padden Dental can make sure that your teeth remain healthy and beautiful throughout your life. For an appointment with a dentist at one of our Vancouver offices, call (360) 213-1999. We’ll gladly answer any of your tooth or oral health questions.