Teeth Flashcards
What processes do they help with?
Ingestion and chemical digestion
What are they used for? Why does it help?
Bite, chop, crush and grind food, creates a larger surface area
What is the top and bottom part of the tooth?
Crown, root
What is the hardest substance in the body?
The enamel
What does the pulp cavity contain?
Nerves, blood vessels
What are the nerves in teeth for?
detect heat, cold and pain
What are the blood vessels in teeth for?
Supply oxygen and nutrients to the tooth
What does dentine contain and what are they surrounded by?
Living cells surrounded by calcium
What is the function of the cement?
Covers the root
What are the fibres for?
To attach the tooth to the jawbone
4 types of teeth and amount of each
8 Incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, 12 molars
What are the incisors for?
Biting
What are the canines for?
In animals-hunting In humans-used as incisors
What are premolars and molars for?
Chewing, grinding
What are the molars at the back of your mouth called?
Wisdom teeth
How many sets of teeth do we have in our lives? What are their names?
2, milk/deciduous teeth, permanent teeth
How many permanent teeth do we have?
32
At what age do milk teeth start coming in? How many are there?
18-20 months, 20
What are tooth decay and gum disease caused by?
Bacteria
What is plaque made of?
Mixture of food and bacteria
What happens if plaque isn’t removed quick enough?
It becomes hard and turns into tartar
What is gum disease?
- Plaque builds up around edges of teeth and gums
- If the plaque is not removed, bacteria may infect the gums and work down to the root of the tooth
- The gums swell, become inflamed and bleed, tooth becomes loose and may fall out or need removing
What happens during tooth decay?
- Acid makes a hole in the enamel, caused by bacteria eating sugar and excreting acid
- This allows bacteria to get into the pulp cavity
- When bacteria reaches the nerves it leads to toothache
What happens in severe cases of tooth decay?
The bacteria spreads to the base of the tooth and leads to painful swelling known as an abcess
How can tooth decay be prevented?
- Don’t eat to much sugar
- Clean teeth regularly-at least twice a day
- Use toothpaste containing flouride
- Visit dentist regularly-2 times a year
- Eat;
calcium-makes teeth stronger
vitamin C-fruit and vegetables help teeth grow and protect our gums
Apples-clean teeth
Raw carrots-make teeth strong
