Chicago Family Dentist

People are equipped with a number of different types of teeth, such as incisors, canines, and molars. Molars are the teeth in a person’s mouth located furthest back in the mouth. They are the most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals, used to grind or chew food. The word molar stems from the Latin “mola,” meaning “millstone.”

Adults have mouths that are equipped with twelve molars. They are found at the back on the four parts of the mouth, in groups of three, if a person allows their wisdom teeth to stay in his or her mouth. The third molar, the one closest to the throat, is called a wisdom tooth. The wisdom tooth is the last tooth to appear in a person’s mouth. If it is allowed to stay present in the mouth, it breaks through the surface of the gum around the age of twenty. This varies from person to person. In addition, ethnicity can play a role in the appearance of wisdom teeth. There are statistical variations among different groups.

There are two broad classifications of molars: maxillary and mandibular molars. Among these groups, the teeth are then assigned the classification of first, second, or third. The mandibular molars are anchored to the lower jaw, or mandible. The maxillary molars are located along the upper jaw. All molars have the same function in the mouth (chewing) and are located behind the pre-molars.

Contact a Chicago Dentist

For more information on your teeth or to schedule a cleaning or other procedure, contact Chicago family dentist Dr. Sumeet Bagai at 773-767-1554.