The Teeth in Your Mouth!
By: Eva Klukiewicz
What is a tooth?
A tooth is a solid, white structure that is located in our mouth. Our teeth let us bite, tear, and grind up food when we eat it. This helps us digest our food more easily when we swallow it.
How many teeth do we have?
When we are born, we have 20 baby teeth. As we grow up, these teeth fall out, and new teeth grow in! Once we are adults, we have 32 permanent teeth. These teeth will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
What are the different layers of teeth?
There are a total of three layers in teeth. The outer layer is called enamel . This layer helps keep a protective coating of the inside of the tooth. The next layer in is called dentin. This layer is the strongest layer that is like a bone. The third, innermost layer is called pulp. This layer has nerves and blood cells in it.
What types of teeth do we have?
There are five types of teeth. We have incisors, canine, premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth.
The incisors cut the food to break it into smaller pieces. There are four of these types of teeth on the top of our mouth, and four on the bottom.
Canine teeth tear the food, and we have two of these on the top of our mouth, and two on the bottom.
There are four premolar teeth on the top, and four on the bottom of our mouth. Premolar teeth grind the food to make it into even smaller pieces.
Molars chew the food to make it into a paste so we can swallow it easily. There are four of these on top, and four on the bottom.
Lastly, wisdom teeth do not do much, but they grow in when you are an adult. There are two on top, and 2 on the bottom of your mouth.
Conclusion
Teeth are very important to our health. Babies are born with 20 teeth, that will fall out, and other teeth will replace them. Adults have a total of 32 teeth, and there are five different types. Each type of tooth has it's own job of breaking food down into smaller pieces so we can digest it. They help us to eat food, so we must keep them clean!
This text is adapted from:
Our Teeth - Types & Structure - Kids School Education Video