Each one of our teeth has a name -

• Central incisors - those two big ones right in front
• Lateral incisor - the tooth next door
• Canine
• First Premolar (Bicuspid)
• Second Premolar (Bicuspid)
• First Molar
• Second Molar
• Third Molar (Wisdom tooth)

As with most everything in nature, each type of tooth serves a purpose. Incisors are used to bite into food. Canines are used to tear into food. Molars are used for crushing and grinding food up. Premolars are mainly used for tearing, but resemble molars in that they have more than one cusp, or point. (To be exact, premolars have two cusps, hence the term “bicuspid”. However, only one of the cusps is functional, making the premolar functionally more similar to the single cusp canine.)

In an upcoming post on dental terms, we’ll talk about the parts of our individual teeth.