🪴 GoDeep
Search
← University Challenge
Portrait of Canine tooth

Anatomy · Head, neck & teeth

Canine tooth

The pointed tearing teeth at the corners of the dental arch

Dentition · corner teeth

The long, single-cusped, pointed teeth that sit at the corners of the mouth, between the incisors and the premolars. There are four in the permanent set, one in each quadrant, and four milk canines. Their crowns tear food, and their roots are the longest of any teeth, anchoring the arch and guiding the jaws as they close. The upper ones are popularly called 'eye teeth'.

How to spot them

  • ▸A single, pointed cusp on a thick crown, longer than its neighbours
  • ▸Sits at the corner of the dental arch, between the lateral incisor and the first premolar
  • ▸One in each quadrant: the third tooth from the midline
  • ▸The root is the longest of any tooth and forms a ridge, the canine eminence, on the outside of the jaw

What to know

The third tooth from the midline in each quadrant, with one long pointed cusp, used for tearing

The canine tooth, called cuspid in American usage

The upper pair are popularly named for the organ above them, and a folk belief once held that pulling them harmed the eyesight

The 'eye teeth' — the upper canines

Tooth 13, tooth 23, tooth 33 and tooth 43 in the two-digit FDI system

The four permanent canines

Universal numbers 6, 11, 22 and 27 in the US system

The canines, at the corners of the arch

Has the longest root of any human tooth, often over two centimetres, making it the cornerstone of the arch

The canine's long root, and its role as the 'cornerstone of the mouth'

Second only to the wisdom teeth in how often it becomes impacted, because it is the last front tooth to erupt, at 11–12 years

Impacted canine, most often the upper

Sharply enlarged in carnivores and in the vampire of legend

Fangs are enlarged canines; the word 'canine' comes from Latin canis, dog

Key ideas

  • In 'canine guidance' the canines take the load when the jaw slides sideways, lifting the back teeth apart and protecting them from grinding forces.
  • The dental formula 2.1.2.3 lists one canine per quadrant; the milk set has the same single canine (2.1.0.2), so a child has four.

Quick-fire facts

  • •Four canines in the permanent set and four in the milk set
  • •Adult dental formula 2.1.2.3 per quadrant: incisors, canines, premolars, molars (32 teeth); milk formula 2.1.0.2 (20 teeth)
  • •FDI numbers 13, 23, 33, 43 (milk canines 53, 63, 73, 83); Universal numbers 6, 11, 22, 27 (milk canines C, H, M, R)
  • •Upper canines erupt at roughly 11–12 years; lower canines a little earlier, at about 9–10
  • •The longest tooth, the upper canine, can reach a total length of around 26–27 mm
  • •In dentistry 'cuspid' is an alternative name for canine, and 'bicuspid' for a premolar
  • •Impacted canines occur in roughly 1–2 per cent of people and are commoner in the upper jaw

Drill it — 7 cards

1 / 7new card

Sources