Mandibular Canine Tooth

Key Features & Anatomical Relations

The mandibular canine tooth (lower canine tooth, mandibular cuspid tooth, or lower cuspid tooth) is single canine tooth that is found in a quadrant of the mandibular dental arcade. It includes the following bony features:

- parts: crown, root, and cervical line;

- surfaces: incisal margin, and labial, lingual, mesial, and distal surfaces;

- landmarks: cusp, cingulum, marginal ridges, lingual fossae, and lingual ridge.

The mandibular canine tooth is located:

- distal to the mandibular lateral incisor tooth;

- mesial to the mandibular first premolar tooth.

The root of the mandibular canine tooth is lodged in a dental alveolus of the mandible.

Development

The deciduous mandibular canine tooth undergoes calcification during the seventeenth week in utero, with the development of the crown being completed during the ninth month after birth. Eruption of this tooth occurs during the twentieth month after birth and the development of the root is completed during the fourth year.

The permanent mandibular canine tooth undergoes calcification during the fourth to fifth months after birth, with the development of the crown being completed during the sixth to seventh years. Eruption of this tooth occurs during the ninth to tenth years and the development of the root is completed during the twelfth to fourteenth years (Nelson, 2014).

Function

As with all canines, the mandibular canine tooth is sharp and pointed and specializes in the gripping (prehension) and tearing of food during mastication.

References

Nelson, S. J. (2014) Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion. 10th edn.: Elsevier Health Sciences.