CHAPTER III
THE DIFFERENT SHAPES OF TEETH
“Man has thirty-two teeth, sixteen to each jaw,” Uncle Paul continued.
Emile already had his finger in his mouth, passing it from one tooth to another, to count them. His uncle paused until he had finished the count.
“But I have only twenty, all told,” declared the boy; “twenty, and not thirty-two.”
“The other twelve will come some day, my boy; at present you have the right number of teeth for a child of your age. They do not all come at one time, but one after another. We begin with twenty, and no more. They are called milk teeth, or first teeth. When we are about seven years old they begin to fall out and are replaced by others stronger and set in more firmly. In addition to this second score of teeth there appear later twelve others, bringing the total number up to thirty-two. Those farthest back, in the inmost cavity of the mouth, come late, when we are eighteen or twenty years old, or even older, for which reason they are called wisdom teeth to signify that they appear at an age when the reason is well developed. These thirty-two last teeth constitute the second cutting. I call them last because they are never replaced by any others; if [[14]]we lose them, that is the end of our teeth; no more will come.”
“I have two now that are loose,” said Emile.
Human Teeth
I, incisors; C, canine tooth; m, small molars; M, large molars; a, cross-section showing, e, enamel; c, cement; i, ivory; p, dental pulp.