Canine
Definition
Single-cusped tooth for tearing and gripping. One per quadrant. Often the last anterior tooth to be lost in old age.
- Cusp count
- Single-cusped
- Function
- Tearing and gripping
- Count per quadrant
- One
- Longevity
- Often the last anterior tooth lost with age
Common questions
Why are canines often the last anterior teeth remaining in older individuals?+
Their long, strong single root and deep alveolar anchoring make them more resistant to periodontal bone loss and extraction than the shorter-rooted incisors, so they tend to persist longest among the front teeth in ageing or edentulous cases.
Why is the canine a preferred tooth for dental identification and age estimation?+
Its simple single-root, single-canal anatomy gives a predictable, easily measured pulp chamber and root outline on radiographs, which is why methods such as pulp-to-tooth ratio ageing are built around this tooth rather than molars.
Related terms
- ABFO No. 2 Scale
- The right-angle L-shaped reference scale with circular targets used in bite mark photography. Its design enables post-capture correction of lens distortion and...
- Cameriere Method (2007)
- Adult age estimation using the pulp-to-tooth area ratio measured on periapical radiographs of canines.
- Cheiloscopy
- Study of lip prints (Greek cheilos, lip; skopein, to examine). The furrow system on human lips was first described by anthropologist R....
- Deciduous Dentition
- The first set of 20 teeth, also called primary or milk teeth, that erupt from approximately six months and are progressively replaced...
- Demirjian Method (1973)
- Childhood age estimation using radiographic stage-scoring (A to H, eight stages) of the seven permanent left mandibular teeth.
- Dental Formula
- Per-quadrant notation of tooth types in the order Incisors.Canines.Premolars.Molars. Human deciduous 2.1.0.2, permanent 2.1.2.3.
- Gustafson Method (1950)
- Adult age estimation using six histological and morphological criteria (Attrition, Periodontosis, Secondary dentine, Cementum apposition, Root resorption, Transparency of root), each scored...
- Incisor
- Chisel-shaped anterior tooth for cutting. Two per quadrant (central and lateral) in both dentitions.
- Molar
- Multi-cusped posterior tooth for grinding. Two per quadrant deciduous, three per quadrant permanent (third molar is the wisdom tooth).
- Nolla Method (1960)
- Ten-stage radiographic scoring of tooth calcification used for paediatric age estimation.
- Permanent Dentition
- Second set of 32 teeth. First permanent molar erupts at 6 years, third molar (wisdom) at 17 to 25 years. Dental formula...
- Premolar (Bicuspid)
- Two-cusped tooth for grinding and tearing. Two per quadrant in permanent dentition only; absent in deciduous.