Dentition
The word dentition 
refers to the general arrangement of teeth. Dentition basically tells you that specific teeth are found in a specific areas of the mouth and that the top teeth contact the lower teeth in a certain manner.
You may not realize it, but you already know some things about the dentition. You know that there are top
and bottom teeth, as well as front and back teeth. Another thing you probably know is that at different times in our lives, different teeth are present. As an infant, we have baby teeth. As we get older, the baby teeth are replaced by adult teeth.
So, as we take a closer look at the term dentition, we find 3 types of dentitions or teeth that exist:
1. Deciduous Teeth
deciduous teeth are also called primary or baby teeth- every deciduous or primary tooth will be replaced by a permanent tooth
- there are 20 deciduous teeth in the mouth (10 deciduous teeth in the top jaw and 10 deciduous teeth in the bottom jaw)
2. Permanent Teeth
permanent teeth are also called adult or secondary teeth- some permanent teeth replace a primary tooth, but not all permanent teeth replace a primary tooth
- the first permanent tooth erupts around age 6
- there are 32 permanent teeth in the mouth- as you may already know, not everyone will have all 32. Some people will not get wisdom teeth, etc.... and some people can actually have more than 32 teeth
- there are 16 permanent teeth in the top jaw and 16 permanent teeth in the bottom jaw
3. Mixed Dentition
a mixed dentition exists when the person has both primary and permanent teeth present- as soon as the first permanent tooth erupts, the person has a mixed dentition; when the last primary tooth is lost, the person has a permanent dentition
- mixed dentitions are typically seen in those that are 6 - 13 years of age
Ok, it's time to see how this material is going so far. Here are 2 questions for you:
