Types of teeth and their jobs
Biology · Key Stage 2 · The School
Not all teeth are the same
Run your tongue around your mouth. Not every tooth feels the same shape. Some are flat. Some are sharp and pointed. Some have bumps. Each shape does a different job when you eat. A dentist can often tell what an animal ate just by looking at its teeth. Even without seeing the animal itself, the teeth alone give it away.
Four kinds of tooth
INCISORS sit at the front. They are flat and sharp, for biting. CANINES sit next to them. They are pointed, for tearing. MOLARS sit at the back. They are wide and bumpy, for grinding food into small pieces. Between the canines and the molars sit smaller teeth called premolars. Adults have more teeth in total than young children do.
Shape matches job
A flat incisor bites cleanly through an apple. A pointed canine tears through tougher food. A wide, bumpy molar crushes food again and again until it is small enough to swallow safely. Each shape is suited to exactly one job. Swap the shapes around and none of the jobs would work as well.
Take a bite of an apple. Your front incisors do the first job. They bite straight through the skin and flesh, cutting off a clean piece. Move it to the side of your mouth. Your canines help tear off any stringy bits. Now your molars take over. They grind the piece again and again, back and forth, until it is soft and small. Only then is it safe to swallow. Three types of tooth. Three jobs, one after another, on the very same bite.