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Understand Teeth

Teeth - How many and when they appear

All of us grow two sets of teeth in a lifetime. The early milk teeth start appearing at around 6 months old. At the age of 6 or 7 the adult teeth start growing, replacing milk teeth one by one as they push through the gums. Wisdom teeth usually arrive in our late teens or early twenties, but may not appear until much later or even not at all! The maximum number of teeth you can have is 32, although as we've said not all of us will grow this number.

Teeth – What they are made of

Teeth are covered by a hard surface of enamel, which forms a protective layer over each tooth. Nature gives us a good start in fighting decay, as this enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies. This is just as well since below the enamel is a slightly softer substance called dentine, comprising the bulk of the tooth. Enamel has no colour, and it is infact dentine that gives the tooth its colour.

The centre of the tooth is called the pulp cavity and contains blood and nerve supplies.

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