Kind and Number of Teeth

Kind and number of teeth

Location of teeth in mouth

Parts of teeth

Care of teeth and gums

Regular check-up of teeth

Importance of dental care

Role of food in development of healthy teeth and gums

Why do we need teeth?

Try saying, 'thirty-three thirsty thieves,' without letting your tongue touch your teeth. Is it easy to talk without using your teeth?

Are all your teeth of the same shape? Are they soft or hard?

What is the colour of your gums? Why are they important?

Teeth are present in our mouth. They help us to chew food, talk, eat, smile, sing, etc.

Sets Of Teeth:

The pair of bones that form the framework of the mouth are together called the jaws. The lower movable jaw is called the mandible and the upper fixed jaw is called the maxilla. The jaws contain teeth.

A baby is born without any teeth. Teeth start growing in babies when they are around six months old. By the time they are two or three years old, children get a set of 20 teeth, 10 teeth in each jaw. This set is called milk teeth or temporary teeth. It is called temporary teeth because the teeth in this set start to fall by the time the child is six years old.

As the milk teeth fall, they are slowly replaced by new permanent teeth. The permanent teeth are the second set of teeth. There are 32 teeth in the permanent set, 16 teeth in each jaw.

What are the differences between milk Teeth and permanent teeth?

Differences between Milk Teeth and Permanent Teeth

Types Of Permanent Teeth:

We have four types of permanent teeth. They are of different shapes and perform different functions. The front 8 (4 in each jaw) teeth are called incisors. On either side of the incisors, 4 canines (2 in each jaw) are present. The pre-molars lie next to the canines followed by the molars.

The table below summarises all the details about the different types of teeth.

Types of Teeth	Number of Teeth	Shape of Teeth	Use of Teeth
	8 (Four in each jaw)	Sharp, flat and chisel-shaped	Cutting and biting of food
	4 (Two in each jaw)	Sharp and pointed	Tearing of food
	8 (Four in each jaw)	Flat and broad	Tearing and crushing of food
	12 (six in each jaw)	Flat and broad (bigger in size than premolars)	Grinding, tearing and crushing of food

The last molar on both sides of each jaw is called wisdom tooth. They are 4 in number. These grow later in life usually between the ages of 17 and 25.

Do you remember losing any of your teeth? How many teeth have you lost till date? Did you get any teeth in place of the lost ones? Share your experiences in the class and listen to your classmates experiences.

Structure of Tooth:

Each tooth is made up of three parts - crown, neck and root.

The part of the tooth which is visible to us is called the crown. It is covered with a hard translucent substance called enamel. The part of the tooth covered by gums is called the neck. The part of the tooth which goes inside the jaw bone is called the root. The root is covered by a hard substance cementum that binds the root firmly to the gums and the jawbone.

Each tooth has three layers. The outer layer of the tooth is called the enamel. It is the hardest substance in our body. The part below the enamel is the dentine.

Inside the tooth, in the centre, is the soft part of the tooth called the pulp cavity. It has blood vessels and nerves in it. Blood vessels carry blood that is rich in nutrients and oxygen to the tooth. The nerves send and receive messages from the brain.

Note:

Enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. It consists of large amounts of minerals.

Fourth Grade

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