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What are teeth?

Teeth are the bones in our mouths that allow us to chew our food. We all start with baby (milk) teeth but these are not strong enough to last our whole lives, so we then grow adult teeth that are stronger and more resistant to substances such as fluoride. There are four main types of teeth.

The four types of teeth:

Incisors	Canines	Premolars	Molars
Enlarge	Enlarge	Enlarge	Enlarge
Sharp cutting edges for cutting food.	Large and pointed for tearing food.	Crush or grind up the food so it is easy to swallow.	Crush or grind up the food so it is easy to swallow.

Teeth reflect the type of food an animal eats:

• Herbivores - Have teeth suited to cutting and nibbling grass and then grinding it. The top of their teeth are very flat and they have no canine teeth. Their jaws move from side to side. E.g. Cows, horses and sheep.
• Carnivores - These eat other animals and so their teeth are specialised for killing their prey & tearing flesh. They have sharp, pointed teeth with especially long canines. Their jaws move up and down. eg. Lions, dogs, cats and foxes.
• Omnivores - These eat a variety of food and so their teeth are suited to both cutting & grinding. Their jaws move both side to side and up and down. eg. Humans and pigs.

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