denture
.jpg)
The set of teeth in a vertebrate is called a set of teeth . Here is the chain that starts digestion : Specialized teeth in the upper and lower jaw ( incisors , canines and molars ) crush, shred and chop the food . Teeth are clearly named in their position in the jaw and in the dental arch using dental schemes in both dentistry and veterinary medicine .
The teeth of the mammalian dentition
The basic form
The basic form of the complete set of mammals consists of 44 teeth. There are eleven teeth per quadrant (also called jaw quarter or jaw branch):
- three front or incisors (Incisivi, Dentes incisivi )
- a canine tooth (Caninus, Dens caninus )
- four front molars or molars ( premolars , dentes premolares )
- three posterior molars or molars ( molars , dentes molares )
Variations of the basic shape
The formation of the teeth in mammals varies depending on the type of food they eat. Herbivores (e.g. horses ), omnivores (e.g. pigs ), and carnivores (e.g. dogs and cats ) each have typical bits. However, there are variations within the food types.
The complete mammalian dentition with 44 teeth is still present in the pigs , which belong to the omnivores. Most types have fewer teeth (see examples under tooth formula ). Anteaters and the sloth only have 20 teeth (see tooth arms ). Echidna do not develop any teeth at all. The number of teeth can even vary within a species, for example in horses (36–44 teeth).
Human teeth
The permanent set of teeth in humans has eight incisors, four canines, eight premolars and twelve molars, for a total of 32 teeth. It is a so called omnivorous bite. The milk teeth consist of 20 milk teeth.
See also
- Tooth formula
- dentition
- Revolver bite (for sharks)
- Colloquially: full denture as a tooth replacement
