Types of Teeth

While all teeth need to be cared for through regular brushing and flossing, teeth serve a number of different purposes and can encounter different problems. We at Dr. Lis Bradley’s Brentwood office thought our patients might like knowing exactly what their teeth are doing and what we do for them.

Each jaw naturally has sixteen teeth, although most people have had at least a few of them extracted without replacements by the time they are adults. The two front teeth in each jaw and the pair on either side of them are called incisors. They are used to tear food and because people use them to form consonants, they are crucial to speech. On each side of the incisors are canines, also known as cuspids or eyeteeth, of which there are four in all. These pointy teeth are used for piercing. They occupy the point of maximum change of curvature in the jaw and are important for stabilizing the other teeth, but the upper ones commonly get stuck while erupting.

Behind the canines are two sets of premolars, and beyond them are three sets of molars. These are the large teeth used for chewing. The molars in the lower jaw often have two roots, and the ones in the upper jaw often have three. The backmost molars are known as wisdom teeth. They are the final teeth to erupt and also frequently get stuck.

Lis Bradley, DDS, operates at 8112 Isabella Ln, Suite 101, Brentwood, Tennessee. To schedule an appointment, visit LisBradleyDDS.com or call 615-778-0810.