Deciduous teeth
Dentes decidui
- Synonym: Dents temporaires
Definition
The first set of teeth appear in childhood, and are called the deciduous teeth (milk teeth).
The deciduous teeth are twenty in number: four incisors, two canines, and four molars, in each jaw.
The deciduous are smaller than, but, generally speaking, resemble in form, the teeth which bear the same names in the permanent set. The hinder of the two molars is the largest of all the deciduous teeth, and is succeeded by the second premolar. The first upper molar has only three cusps—two labial, one lingual; the second upper molar has four cusps. The first lower molar has four cusps; the second lower molar has five. The roots of the deciduous molars are smaller and more divergent than those of the permanent molars, but in other respects bear a strong resemblance to them.
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