Our teeth: They help us eat our meals. They determine the shape of your mouth and consequently your entire face. They’re the smile that helps you make first impressions on people. Yet many of us don’t know which tooth is a bicuspid and which is an incisor. When we have a toothache and are asked by Dr. Ray Becker of Howard County Smiles, ‘which tooth is bothering you?’, a lot of us simply point and say, “that one!” like we’re implicating a suspect in a police lineup. So let’s take a moment to get to know these movers and shakers of the mouth a little better.
Human beings grow two sets of teeth in our lifetime: our primary teeth and our secondary teeth. The primary teeth are more commonly known as the “baby teeth” because they start to appear when we are only about six months old. They are usually all in place by the time we reach three years of age. The secondary teeth, also known as the “adult teeth”, begin to replace the primaries as they fall out between the ages of six and twelve.
Most people usually has 32 adult teeth in their mouth but these teeth are not all the same. Your teeth play different roles based on their shapes and positions. They could be compared to the players on your favorite football team: each player has their own job but they work together as a team.
Now that you know a little more about your teeth, you may be able to better communicate with Dr. Becker if you’re having a problem with a tooth. For example, if you have pain in the top front of your mouth when you bite, you may have an issue with one of your top incisors. Hopefully you now can at least appreciate the roles your teeth play in chewing on your food and how necessary they all are. After all, a good team is only as strong as its’ weakest player so it’s important to schedule regular cleanings and exams with Dr. Becker at Howard County Smiles in Columbia MD. To schedule call 410.415.9013 or request an appointment online.
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