What Makes Up a Tooth?

Dr. Egger loves teeth. OK, maybe not those wax vampire teeth that are soon to be around for Halloween. But Dr. Egger is all about helping his patients keep their teeth healthily chomping away year after year forevermore. Kind of like a Pac Man game on autoplay. Or a beaver going through birch trees in the U.P.

Toward that end, we think it can help to know what your teeth are all about. We often have blogs about prosthetics such as bridges, crowns, or even dentures. But many people don’t know the basics of just what their teeth are.

So, for your enlightenment, and maybe an answer or two on Jeopardy!, here’s a primer on your trusty teeth.

What are the parts of a tooth?

These are the parts that make up all of your teeth:

• Crown — This can be confused with a dental crown, a prosthetic that fits over your upper part of the tooth. The crown actually fits over the “crown” of the tooth. This is the portion of the tooth above the gumline.
• Gumline — This is where the tooth and the gums meet. When you develop problems with your gums, bacteria and tartar begin to move up under the gumline.
• Root — About two thirds of the tooth mass, the roots are the part of the tooth that is embedded in the jawbone.
• Enamel — Enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body, but it is actually porous. That’s why it can accumulate stains from coffee and red wine. Enamel protects the inner tooth.
• Dentin — The layer under the enamel, the dentin has millions of tiny tubes that lead directly to the dental pulp. When a tooth is stained from a reaction to tetracycline or from trauma, it is stained in the dentin. This type of staining can’t be corrected with teeth whitening.
• Pulp — This is the soft center of the tooth. Here there are nerves and blood vessels. When decay invades the pulp you’ll begin to feel extreme pain. A root canal removes all of the nerves and blood vessels.

What are the different types of teeth?

The normal number of teeth a person usually has before they lose any is 32, 16 on top and bottom. You probably have never spent much time thinking of the function of your teeth, but the different shapes make for different purposes. Here are the types of chompers in your mouth.

• Incisors — These are the sharp, chisel-shaped front teeth (four on top and four on bottom) used for cutting food.
• Canines — These are also called cuspids, these pointed teeth (two on bottom and two on top) are used for tearing food.
• Premolars — These teeth have pointed cusps on their biting surface and are also called bicuspids. These teeth (four on top and four on bottom) are for crushing and tearing.
• Molars — These teeth have several cusps on the biting surface. The molars (six on top and six on bottom) are meant for grinding up food.

Now that you’re a tooth expert, maybe it’s time to schedule your twice-yearly exam and professional cleaning with Dr. Egger. Call us at (989) 773-3560 to make an appointment.