Humans have 32 teeth, almost all of which have different names. One distinguishes incisors (Incisivi), canines (Canini), premolars and molars from each other. Some people lack the attachment to the wisdom teeth, also called eights. These people have only 28 teeth in their dentition, but missing wisdom teeth do not mean a functional impairment.
Definition
The canine tooth is called Dens caninus in the technical language, or often only as Caninus. (Dens = Latin for tooth, Caninus = Latin for dog). With carnivores, the cuspid is enlarged and serves the tearing of loot, here it is called also a fang or Reißzahn.
In human dentition the canine is located in the dental arch between the incisors and the premolars (these are the two front molars). The tooth gets its name from the kink the dental arch makes in its place. The incisors together with the canines form a semicircle, the four molars (premolars and molars) run after the canines in a straight line backwards towards the tuber (the tubers are small bony elevations behind the last molars.
They are very important for the hold of a total prosthesis as they practically never atrophy. In a fully edentulous dentition, the tubers do not have great functional importance. In the literature the tubers are also called tuberculum articulare.
Development
Every human being has four canines. The human dentition is divided into quadrants. The first quadrant is located in the upper jaw and extends from the middle between the front incisors to the back right to the last molar.
The second quadrant is also located in the upper jaw and extends from the middle between the front incisors to the last molar on the left side. Similarly, the third and fourth quadrants are located in the lower jaw. (By the way, the quadrant designation also applies to edentulous jaws, but in this case the position of the teeth must be considered).
A canine tooth is found in each quadrant. The human being has both milk canines and permanent canines. Normally the canines break through first in the lower jaw, then in the upper jaw.
In the second, the permanent dentition, first the front incisors break through, then the lateral incisors. In the lower jaw the canines break through first and then the premolars and molars. In the upper jaw, however, often the fourth tooth of the row of teeth (the front premolar) comes first and only then the canine tooth breaks through.
In this way, there is often a lack of space in the upper jaw, a gap must first be opened (further) with the help of orthodontic treatment so that the canine has enough space and can grow into the oral cavity undisturbed. If orthodontic treatment is omitted in the initial stage of tooth eruption, the growing canine will displace the entire row of teeth or grow completely outside of it. Both options require subsequent orthodontic treatment, both from an aesthetic and functional point of view. The breakthrough of the permanent canine teeth occurs at the age of about eleven years, in girls usually a little earlier than in boys.