Incisors are the teeth at the very front of your jaw. They are called incisors (from Latin “incidere”, to cut), because they are very sharp and help to bite off food. We have four incisors in each jaw.

Right next to the incisors, there is one canine on each side. As the name suggests (canine, from Latin “doglike”), they go back to the fangs of animals. They are pointed and cone-shaped. Like incisors, canines are used to cut or bite off food and are important pressure points during the chewing process.

The canines are followed by two premolars on each side. They come with a proper chewing surface, which helps them fulfill their main task, the grinding of food.

The teeth behind the premolars have the biggest chewing surface. Their name, as well as the name premolar, goes back to the Latin word “molaris” meaning millstone. This clearly shows their main function - to make food as small and digestible as possible before swallowing. There are usually two of them on each side of our jaws.

Wisdom teeth are remnants of evolution. Like molars, they were meant to be grinding teeth. Nowadays, wisdom teeth are either not built at all or have to be removed at some stage, because they no longer fulfill their original function.

Together with the jaw, the jaw joint and the muscles, a full set of teeth in both jaws builds the masticatory apparatus (from Greek mastikhān, "to grind"), which helps us chew, speak and smile.