Teeth have an outer coating of enamel followed by dentin which surrounds pulp, the live area that has blood, blood and nerves in it. People get two sets of teeth over a lifetime, the primary teeth that appear in infancy and last for several years to be replaced by the permanent teeth before adolescence.
Most of us have 32 permanent teeth. Incisors have a sharp edge for cutting food, the canines tear food and the premolars and molars grind food.
There are four main types of teeth:
Incisors, the front teeth.
Canines or cuspids, the pointed teeth on either side of the incisors.
Bicuspids or premolars, the mostly flat-topped teeth after the canines.
Molars, the large, flat-topped teeth at the back of the mouth. The third molars are called the wisdom teeth.
A tooth is living tissue. The crown is the part of the tooth that we see in the mouth. Dentin makes up most of the tooth. It's harder than bone but it still decays.
