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Tooth Anatomy

Tooth Anatomy

The human tooth enables us to eat a variety of foods, speak clearly, and even aid in shaping our faces. Teeth are composed of various elements that work together. Here's a detailed look at the anatomy of a human tooth.
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or grinding food.

Teeth

Teeth

The formation of teeth, also known as odontogenesis, is a complex process that begins in utero, around the sixth week of embryonic development. There are three stages to this process: the bud stage, the cap stage, and the bell stage.
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2026

Precision of In Vivo Quantitative Tooth Wear Measurement Using Intra-Oral Scans

Precision of In Vivo Quantitative Tooth Wear Measurement Using Intra-Oral Scans

Published on: July 12, 2022

Prospective in (Primate) dental analysis through tooth 3D topographical quantification.

Franck Guy¹, Florent Gouvard, Renaud Boistel

¹Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Ecologie et Environnement, UMR 7262 - iPHEP: Institut de Paléoprimatologie et Paléontologie Humaine, Evolution et Paléoenvironnements, Université de Poitiers, Faculté des Sciences, Poitiers, France. franck.guy@univ-poitiers.fr

|July 5, 2013

Summary

The enamel-dentine junction shapes tooth surfaces, but enamel thickness variations alter this. This study quantifies how enamel influences tooth morphology using 3D analysis of anthropoid molars.

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Area of Science:

Paleontology
Anthropology
Biomineralization

Background:

The enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) is crucial for occlusal tooth morphology.
Enamel cap thickness variations can modify the EDJ's influence on external tooth surfaces.
The quantitative relationship between EDJ and enamel morphology remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and apply novel 3D analytical methods for quantitatively characterizing EDJ and enamel morphologies.
To investigate the influence of enamel cap thickness on the transcription of EDJ morphology onto the occlusal surface.
To establish a quantitative comparison of EDJ and enamel surface descriptors.

Main Methods:

Utilized 3D geometrical analysis of polygonal meshes representing unworn upper second molars from eight anthropoid genera.
Generated a detailed 3D dataset characterizing EDJ and enamel morphologies.
Developed new indices to quantify and compare surface descriptors (elevation, inclination, orientation) of EDJ and enamel.

Main Results:

Presented a novel quantitative method for comparing EDJ and enamel morphologies.
Observed significant individual variations and taxonomic differences in topographic parameters.
Demonstrated that the enamel cap alters the "transcription" of EDJ morphology in diverse ways.

Conclusions:

The enamel cap's influence on tooth morphology is significant and complex, not merely a passive layer.
The developed 3D analytical approach provides a robust framework for quantitative morphological studies.
Further research into the interplay between EDJ and enamel is essential for understanding tooth evolution and function.