Teeth from birth to adulthood

A baby starts getting teeth from the age of six months. The child gets twenty temporary teeth called primary teeth or baby teeth or deciduous teeth. It consists of four second molars, four first molars, four canine or eye teeth, four lateral incisors and four central incisors. Out of the four teeth two is located on the upper jaw one on each side and two in the lower jaw one on each side. The teeth grow in different stages in life till they reach the age of five. This milk teeth begins to fall when they reach the age of eight or nine and then the permanent teeth begins to come.

The adults have thirty two permanent teeth with sixteen in the upper jaw and sixteen in the lower jaw. All the primary tooth falls in stages and the permanent teeth comes one by one. The adults have four central incisors, four lateral incisors, four canine or eye teeth, four first premolars, four second premolars, four first molars, four second molars, four third molars or the wisdom teeth.

Each tooth has its own function. Generally, the tooth used for biting and cutting is the central incisors and lateral incisors; while the canine teeth is vital for tearing the food material. The central incisors and the lateral incisors are primarily used for biting and cutting and canine teeth are primarily used for tearing food. The premolars, molars and wisdom teeth are primarily used for chewing and grinding food.

The parts of the teeth contains three parts namely the crown, the neck and the root.

The crown is the part which we see and feel and lies above the gum tissue. The crown is covered by a thin layer of enamel which protects the teeth from being sensitive. If the enamel goes away we will feel uneasy if any food particle touches the tooth.

The neck is the area of the tooth that lies between the crown and the root. The root is the portion of the tooth that extends through the gum and into the bone of the jaw.

The child usually gets its first tooth between three to sixteen months which is hereditary. Incisors are the first teeth to erupt, either the top or the bottom ones come first. The child undergoes pain and irritation during this period till the tooth erupts out of the gums.

Then the teeth start coming one by one till the entire twenty primary or milk teeth come out by the time the child is three years old.

The new permanent teeth start to come out as the milk teeth falls. Care should be taken at this stage by brushing the teeth with a soft brush It is better to use children’s tooth paste at this stage since they are harmless even if the swallow while goggling since they might not know to spit it out.