Today we will tell you in detail about how many teeth people have, and also tell you about their structure, functions, types, etc.
General information
Teeth are bone formations located in the human oral cavity. They are arranged in the form of 2 arcs (one above the other). If a person closes the lower and upper jaws together, then the teeth will close, separating the vestibule of the mouth from its own cavity. In this position, people form an overbite, which is studied by such a science as orthodontics.
He althy teeth are a pretty good indicator of the functioning of the whole organism. However, most people want not only to show off their excellent physical condition, but also a beautiful and snow-white smile. And what to do for this, we will consider at the very end.
Shapes and main types of teeth
Before telling you about how many teeth people have, you should find out exactly how they differ in their shape and purpose. After all, each individual tooth performs exclusively its own functions, namely, the capture of food, holding it in the mouth and chewing. It is also worth noting that they are directly involved in the rightpronunciation of sounds.
Incisors
These teeth are located in the very front of the dentition (4 on top and the same number on the bottom). They owe their name to the fact that they have a sharp cutting edge, with which a person can easily bite off any products, including rather hard ones.
Fangs
On both sides of the incisors, people have cone-shaped teeth or the so-called "fangs" (2 on top and the same number on the bottom). They are designed to tear off small pieces from the whole product. It should be noted that in humans, these types of teeth are rather poorly developed than in predatory animals. This is because people do not eat raw, rough and fibrous foods such as meat.
Small molars
In medical practice, these teeth are called premolars. On their chewing surface there are two tubercles. As for the roots, there can be one or two. Small molars are necessary for a person to crush products, as well as for their further grinding. In addition, premolars can also be used to tear food.
Big molars
The presented teeth, located on both the lower and upper jaws, are called molars. Unlike previous bone formations, they are larger in size, and also have more than one root (upper three, and lower two). In addition, they have a chewing surface and special depressions, which are called fissures. Also at the top of the bigmolars present four or five cusps. The main function of the molars is to grind and grind food into a pulp before swallowing it directly.
So how many molars does a person have? The number of premolars in he althy people is four on top and the same number on the bottom. As for the large molars, their number is similar to the small ones.
Varieties of teeth
It should be noted that a person has two sets of teeth: temporary and permanent. In their functions and structure, they are quite similar to each other. However, temporary bone formations are much smaller in size and have a different shade (whitish-bluish). By the way, they are usually called "dairy".
They play a rather important role in the development of primary and permanent teeth. Indeed, even in childhood, such formations retain the necessary space for future incisors, canines, premolars and molars, and also direct their further growth. It is worth noting that the number of milk teeth in a person is only 20 pieces. They usually begin to erupt around 3-6 months of age and are completely gone by 2, 5, or 3 years.
Having found out how many milk teeth a person has, you should move on to describing the permanent ones. Usually they begin to appear by the age of 5-6 and completely replace the temporary ones at 12-14 years. The first molars grow in a free space behind the milk teeth. When the time comes, the roots of temporary teeth in children dissolve, and later fall out. As is known, such a processoccurs in pairs and in a certain sequence.
Thus, the answer to the question of how many teeth change in a person may well be the number 20. After all, this is how many milk teeth fall out in young children, and in the future permanent incisors, fangs, etc. grow instead of them.
32 – normal?
When you ask your dentist about how many teeth people have, you can hear a very unambiguous answer: 32. This number is made up of the following numbers:
- 8 incisors (4 of them located on the lower jaw and 4 on the upper jaw);
- 4 fangs (2 above and the same number below);
- 8 premolars (4 below and 4 above);
- 12 molars (6 in the upper jaw and the same number in the lower).
However, some people, having counted their teeth, quite often resent the fact that they find 28 instead of 32 in themselves. This is due to the fact that molars growing by the age of 14 are only 2 pairs on the bottom and upper jaw, respectively. In other words, the number of large molars in he althy people is exactly the same as the number of small ones (that is, 8 pieces). "So where are the other 4?" - you ask. The fact is that the total number of teeth in a person is considered together with the so-called "wisdom" teeth. As a rule, such bone formations grow in people from 17 to 30 years old. Moreover, they may never appear at all, making the number 32 not so normal.
So how muchhuman wisdom teeth? A simple mathematical calculation will be able to answer the question asked:
32 (normal number of teeth) - 28 (permanent teeth growing by age 14)=4 wisdom teeth, 2 of which are located at the top and the same number at the bottom.
As mentioned above, such bone formations may never grow at all. This fact is due to the fact that in the process of evolution, molars that are unnecessary for chewing are gradually reduced. According to statistics, only half of the population of our planet has a complete set of two arches on the lower and upper jaws.
Historical reference and a look into the future
If the question of how many teeth people have had been asked in the distant past, then a completely different figure would have sounded, and not 32. After all, our ancestors had as many as 44 bone formations in the oral cavity, that is, exactly 12 more teeth. Over time, several pairs of teeth disappeared from each side of the upper and lower jaws.
According to experts, after a few hundred years, people may also have reduced second and third molars, as well as lateral incisors. This is due to the fact that modern man is increasingly eating exclusively soft and mushy dishes, for chewing which the above-mentioned bone formations are not needed. By the way, this can also affect the fact that the jaw of people will gradually become smaller. Of course, such evolutionary changes can be changed. But in this case, an additional load should be given to the entire dental system. To do this, a person needs to eat more animal or coarse plant foods.
Tooth structure
How many teeth an adult has, we found out a little higher. But speaking of such bone formations, with the help of which people eat every day and supply their body with all the necessary substances, one cannot ignore their structure.
As you know, this element consists of three main components: crown, neck and root.
1. "Crown" refers to the visible part of the tooth, which is covered with enamel (the hardest substance in the human body), relatively resistant to decay.
2. The neck is the part of the tooth immersed in the gum.
3. The root of any tooth is located directly in the jawbone.
It is also worth noting that the bulk of the presented bone formations forms the so-called "dentin", which is under the enamel. This material is quite strong. However, in terms of its resistance to fracture and hardness, it is still inferior to the crown. As you know, dentin is pierced by multiple canals containing processes of cells of which it actually consists.
As for the cavity of the tooth, it includes nerve endings, as well as blood vessels. It is they who deliver all the necessary nutrients to the living tissues of bone formations and remove their waste products.
Returning to the roots, it should be noted that they are completely covered with cement. This substance is quite similar to ordinary bone. It is to thisparts of the tooth are attached to multiple fibers that hold it firmly in place (in the gum). However, there is still some mobility of such bone formations. After all, thanks to this, the likelihood that they will break while chewing solid food is significantly reduced.
Few people know, but inside all human teeth there is a cavity that extends into the root in the form of a canal, and ends with a small hole in their tops. As you know, this hollow place is filled with the so-called "pulp". It is into it that nerve endings and various vessels penetrate through the jaws.
How to take care of your teeth?
If you want to keep all 32 teeth (or 28), then they should be carefully looked after. To do this, experts recommend cleaning them well in the evening and in the morning, and after each meal, be sure to rinse the mouth. Compliance with the rules of personal hygiene will allow you to keep all your teeth until old age. But if for some reason your teeth hurt, you should immediately contact your dentist. By the way, it is recommended to visit it at least twice a year. After all, the prevention of caries and other problems with bone formations is less painful and cheaper than a long and painful treatment.
