The teeth are the hardest substances in the human body. Besides being essential for chewing, the teeth play an important role in speech. Parts of the teeth include:
• Enamel: The hardest, white outer part of the tooth. Enamel is mostly made of calcium phosphate, a rock-hard mineral.
• Dentin: A layer underlying the enamel. It is a hard tissue that contains microscopic tubes. When the enamel is damaged, heat or cold can enter the tooth through these paths and cause sensitivity or pain.
• Pulp: The softer, living inner structure of teeth. Blood vessels and nerves run through the pulp of the teeth.
• Cementum: A layer of connective tissue that binds the roots of the teeth firmly to the gums and jawbone.
• Periodontal ligament: Tissue that helps hold the teeth tightly against the jaw.
A normal adult mouth has 32 teeth, which (except for wisdom teeth) have erupted by about age 13:
• Incisors (8 total): The middlemost four teeth on the upper and lower jaws
.• Molars (8 total): Flat teeth in the rear of the mouth, best at grinding food.
• Canines (4 total): The pointed teeth just outside the incisors.
• Premolars (8 total): Teeth between the canines and molars.
• Wisdom teeth or third molars (4 total): These teeth erupt at around age 18, but are often surgically removed to prevent displacement of other teeth.
The crown of each tooth projects into the mouth. The root of each tooth descends below the gum line, into the jaw.
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