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12/2/2005   Miscellaneous

Answer:

Bicuspid (also premolar): a tooth with two cusps, one toward the cheek and one toward the tongue. There are normally two on each side both on the upper and lower jaw. The first bicuspid (premolar) is closer to the midline (fourth from the midline) and the second is in back. The lower second bicuspid is the second most often congenitally missing tooth in the mouth (about 4.4% of the time), second only to the wisdom teeth. The upper first bicuspid often has a developmental groove on the mesial (surface toward the midline), which can make the tooth a challenge in terms of periodontal health.

Buccal: that surface of a posterior tooth which is closest to the cheek.

Canine (also cuspid): a tooth with one cusp, usually pointed and simple in anatomy; it is situated in the corner of the mouth (third from the midline). Because of the length of its root, it is considered one of the most valuable teeth in the mouth. Lay people often refer to this tooth as the “eye-tooth.”

Congenital: of or relating to a condition that is present at birth, typically inherited or as a result of environmental factors. A congenital defect is a flaw existing at birth; congenital absence refers to something that will never form, i.e. a tooth that will not form.

Cuspid: see canine.

Facial (also labial): that surface of an anterior tooth which is closest to the cheek.

Horizontal dimension: a description of the measurement from front to rear, parallel to the floor; this might constitute the distance from the back wall of the throat to the tip of the tongue.

Incisor: teeth used for incising (cutting); in humans, these are the two pairs of teeth closest to the midlines, both in the upper and lower arches. There are two central incisors (midline) and two lateral incisors.

Labial: see facial

Lingual: that surface of a tooth which is closest to the tongue.

Mesial: that surface of a tooth which is typically closest to the midline.

Midline: the center of the mouth, usually the point where the two central incisors make contact. If the two are spaced, the midline is the point of bisection of the distance between the two. In an ideal situation, the upper and lower midlines line up with the facial midline, a projection of the midpoints of the face: the center of the eye brows, the tip of the nose, the philtrum – the depression on the upper lip, centered between the nostrils, that point where the outline of the upper lip (often known as the cupid’s bow because the superior border of the lip is shaped like an archer’s bow), and the midpoint of the lower lip and chin.

Molar: a large, multi-cusped tooth located in the back of the mouth, primarily responsible for grinding. There are three in each quadrant, the first molar (often called the six-year molar), the second molar (the twelve-year molar) and the third molar (wisdom teeth).

Openbite: a measure of the amount of space between the upper and lower teeth in a site where, in fact, the teeth are supposed to overlap vertically.

Overbite: a measure of the amount that the upper tooth overlaps the lower tooth in a vertical dimension.

Overjet: a measure of the amount that the upper tooth overlaps the lower tooth in a horizontal dimension.

Palatal: that surface of a posterior tooth which is closest to the tongue.

Premolar: see bicuspid.