Teeth Names
It is useful to know the names of the different types of teeth.
This page is about the different types of teeth in humans.
There are four types of teeth in a normal set of permanent (adult) human teeth.
The names of the four types of teeth are:
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False teeth don't count. |
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'Milk teeth' is the colloquial term used to refer to the teeth that children form first then lose as they grow older and their 'milk teeth' are replaced by their permanent teeth. Alternative words used to refer to 'milk teeth' include baby teeth, fall teeth, reborner teeth, temporary teeth, deciduous teeth and primary teeth. |
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It is easy to identify teeth (teeth names) by looking at an individual tooth.
You can tell by either
- its position in the mouth, or
- by a description of the tooth or its actions / purpose.
1. Teeth Names from the shape of teeth
Only the top part of teeth called the 'crown' of a tooth - see tooth anatomy - is normally visible when the tooth is in its normal position in the mouth. However, as shown in the simple diagram of the shape of a tooth (above right), teeth are larger and often have a more complicated shape than can be seen just by looking into an open mouth.
To see the whole of a tooth or teeth it is necessary to either look at a tooth that is no-longer in its original position embedded into a jaw bone or to look at an X-ray image of teeth (i.e. an image formed using radiography equipment to capture images of bones and teeth). The dental x-ray panorama image on the left shows both the upper- and lower-jaws of a young man.
Using this image it is possible to match the teeth in the x-ray with the teeth names labelled in the following diagram and the short descriptions of each of the four types of adult human teeth at the bottom of this page.
2. Teeth Names from the position of teeth in the mouth
The following diagram of the names of teeh (showing an anterior view of the mouth) is clickable.
Click the text labels on the diagram for information about the part of the oral cavity indicated by the label - on another page.
3. Teeth Names from descriptions of teeth
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See also structures of the mouth, tooth anatomy and, as teeth are accessory digestive organs, the digestive system.