Miami Lakes residents can appreciate how important incisors are for daily life and looks if they know what they are. We tell our patients that incisors are the front teeth that everyone sees when they smile or talk. These teeth are very important for eating and for the look of your face because they have a special shape and function.
The flat teeth in the front of your mouth are called incisors. Most adults have eight incisors, four on top and four on the bottom. We group these teeth into two: central incisors and lateral incisors. The two front teeth in the middle are the central incisors and the two teeth on each side are the lateral incisors. People see these teeth first when you smile.
The shape of incisors is perfect for their job. These teeth have narrow, sharp edges that cut through food like tiny blades. Your incisors do most of the work when you bite into an apple or tear off a piece of bread. And their flat surfaces help move food to the back teeth where the chewing happens. We call them incisors because they cut. The Latin word for cut is “incidere”.
Incisor teeth are also very important for speech. For many sounds the tongue has to touch or get close to the back of the upper incisors. Sounds like “th”, “f” and “v” rely on how well the incisors are aligned. We see that people who are missing incisors or have them in the wrong place have trouble saying certain words. So keeping your incisors healthy is key to good communication.
The look of your incisor teeth has a big impact on how your face looks and how attractive your smile is. These teeth in the front of your mouth shape your smile and how others see you. We know many of our patients feel bad about themselves when their incisors are crooked, stained or broken. These teeth are very visible so even small flaws can make you feel less confident and harder to talk to others.
At Specialty Smiles we see a lot of problems that can happen to incisor teeth over time. Accidents and sports injuries often hurt these big front teeth. Decay can also happen on incisors especially at the gum line where plaque likes to build up. We also help patients whose incisors are naturally out of line which can affect how they work and how they look.
Incisor teeth start growing when a child is very young. Baby incisors come in first and usually show up between 6-12 months. These primary incisors are very important for young children because they help them learn how to speak and bite properly. Then permanent incisors come in to replace the baby teeth usually between 6-8 years old. During this time of transition it’s important to keep an eye on things to make sure everything is going well.
Incisor teeth need special care because they are in a visible area and are used often. Food, drinks and everything in the environment that can stain or damage these teeth are always around them. We recommend you pay extra attention to brushing your front teeth daily. Also patients should be careful not to do things like bite their nails or open packages with their incisors.
Chips, cracks and discoloration are common problems that can happen to incisor teeth. Eating hard foods or drinking stain causing drinks are two common things that can cause these problems. We have different ways to fix damaged incisors such as bonding, veneers and crowns. The type of treatment used depends on how bad the damage is and what the patient wants to look like.
When incisor teeth are not in the right place they can also cause problems with how they work. If your incisors are crooked or protruding they may not fit together properly which can make it harder to bite and wear out other teeth faster. Also cleaning misplaced incisors can be harder which increases the risk of cavities and gum disease. Braces for Teens can fix these alignment problems during the best time for growth and development.
We are still committed to helping people in Miami Lakes keep their incisors healthy and beautiful through thorough preventive care and effective treatment options when problems arise.