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Teeth are common to most vertebrates, but mammalian teeth are distinctive in having a variety of shapes and functions. This feature first arose among early therapsids during the Permian, and has continued to the present day. All therapsid groups with the exception of the mammals are now extinct, but each of these groups possessed different ...
Deciduous teeth or primary teeth, also informally known as baby teeth, milk teeth, or temporary teeth, [1] are the first set of teeth in the growth and development of humans and other diphyodonts, which include most mammals but not elephants, kangaroos, or manatees, which are polyphyodonts.
The specialised teeth—incisors, canines, premolars, and molars—are found in the same order in every mammal. [6] In many mammals, the infants have a set of teeth that fall out and are replaced by adult teeth. These are called deciduous teeth, primary teeth, baby teeth or milk teeth.
Children with a full set of deciduous teeth (primary teeth) also have eight incisors, named the same way as in permanent teeth. Young children may have from zero to eight incisors depending on the stage of their tooth eruption and tooth development. Typically, the mandibular central incisors erupt first, followed by the maxillary central ...
In particular, the structure of the mammaliaform (and mammal) jaw and the arrangement of teeth are nearly unique. Instead of having many teeth that are frequently replaced, mammals have one set of baby teeth and later one set of adult teeth that fit together precisely. This is thought to aid in the grinding of food to make it quicker to digest. [5]
Mammals chew their food which requires a set of firmly attached, strong teeth and a "full" tooth row without gaps. The manatees have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and premolars. These teeth are continuously replaced throughout their life with new teeth growing at the rear ...
In mammals with tribosphenic teeth, the protocone slides into the talonid basin on the lower teeth in order to grind and crush food. Often the largest cusp in the upper molar, though some insectivorous mammals reduce it substantially. Paracone: A major cusp outwards from the protocone and in front of the metacone.
A diphyodont is any animal with two sets of teeth, initially the deciduous set and consecutively the permanent set. [1] [2] [3] Most mammals are diphyodonts—as to chew their food they need a strong, durable and complete set of teeth. Diphyodonts contrast with polyphyodonts, whose teeth are constantly replaced.