Types of Teeth

Every tooth needs to be brushed and flossed to stay healthy. But the teeth also have specialized functions. At Dr. Amit Pandya’s New Hyde Park dental practice, we believe patients should have an understanding of basic oral health issues, which is why we wanted to provide a guide to what makes teeth distinct.

Adults typically grow thirty-two permanent teeth to replace the twenty-two they grew in childhood. There are sixteen teeth in each jaw. The four in the front of the jaw are called incisors, and they are used for speech and for tearing food. To the sides of the incisors are the cuspids, so called because they end in a point. They are also called canines or eye teeth. The upper cuspids sometimes have difficulty breaking through the gum line, and in rarer cases, so do the lateral incisors.

The premolars and molars are used for chewing. Their crowns have multiple cusps, but the premolars (four per jaw) only have one root. The molars (three per jaw) in the lower jaw have two roots and the ones in the upper jaw have three. Molars have strong ligaments and have to withstand incredible force. The wisdom teeth, which are the largest molars and the ones furthest in the back, also commonly have difficulty erupting.

The office of Amit Pandya, DDS, is at 1575 Hillside Ave, Suite 207, New Hyde Park, New York, 11040. To schedule an appointment, call 516-233-2135, or visit his website at Going Grin and fill out a contact sheet.