Question

Name different types of teeth and their number in an adult human.

Answer 1

Hint: There are four different types of teeth and their number is 8, 4, 8 and 12. Half of the upper jaw and the lower jaw has 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars. So, The total number of teeth in an adult human is 32. The dental formula is $I\dfrac{2}{2}C\dfrac{1}{1}P\dfrac{2}{2}M\dfrac{3}{3}$.

Complete answer:
There are four types of teeth in an adult human which are Incisors, canines, premolars and molars.

> Incisors- There are 8 incisors in an adult human and these are thin and straight teeth at the front of the mouth which are called incisors. Out of 8 there are 4 teeth at the top and 4 teeth at the bottom. Incisors let us bite the food we eat and help us to even pronounce the words we speak. These teeth provide support to the lips.

> Canines- There are4 canines and dentists called these teeth as cuspids because these are slightly pointed teeth which are found on each side of the lower and upper incisors. Since these are pointed and sharp teeth, they help to cut the food and support the lips. Apart from this, canines help to guide all the teeth into place when the upper and lower jaw come together.

> Premolars- There are 8 premolars which are present behind the canines and dentists call premolars as bicuspids. There are 2 premolars on each side of the jaw and there are 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom so the total number of premolars are 8. The top of premolars is flattened and hence it helps to chew food and it maintains the height of the face.

> Molars- There are a total 12 molars in an adult human, molar teeth are larger and they are flat teeth at the back of the mouth. There are 3 teeth present on each side of the jaw so there are 6 molars at the top and 6 at the bottom which makes it total 12 molar teeth and it includes wisdom teeth. Molars are used to grind the food during chewing.

So, adults have 32 teeth in total which are called permanent or secondary teeth and there are 8 Incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars and 12 molars. The dental formula on each side of the jaw is I2C1P2M3.

Note: There are 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars and 12 molars. Molars have 4 wisdom teeth. All the teeth play an important role in supporting the lip and for the intake of food. Incisors play an important role to bite the food since these are straight teeth at the front of mouth and all other teeth help in grinding or in cutting.