Teeth and Dental Care

Your teeth do much more than help you smile! They are essential tools for chewing food, helping you speak clearly, and shaping your face. You only get two sets of teeth in your life — baby teeth and adult teeth — so learning to care for them well now will pay off for decades.

The four types of teeth

• Incisors (8 total): The flat, sharp teeth at the front. They cut and bite into food.
• Canines (4 total): The pointed teeth beside the incisors. They tear and grip food.
• Premolars (8 total): Located behind the canines. They crush and grind food.
• Molars (8–12 total): The large, flat teeth at the back. They do the heavy grinding work — perfect for tough foods like carrots and bread.

How cavities form

• After you eat, tiny bacteria in your mouth feed on leftover sugar and starch and produce acid.
• Over time, bacteria and food form a sticky film on teeth called plaque.
• Plaque acid slowly dissolves the hard outer layer of teeth — the enamel. Once the enamel is gone, a hole called a cavity forms.
• Cavities are painful and must be repaired by a dentist. Unlike bones, teeth cannot repair themselves once enamel is lost.

The correct brushing routine

1. Put a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on a soft-bristled toothbrush.
2. Brush the outer surfaces of all teeth — angling the bristles toward the gumline.
3. Brush the inner surfaces of all teeth.
4. Brush the biting surfaces (tops) of the back teeth.
5. Gently brush the tongue to remove bacteria.
6. Spit out the toothpaste — do not swallow it.
7. Floss between every tooth to remove food and plaque the brush cannot reach.

• Brush for at least 2 minutes, twice a day — morning and before bed.