Quick Facts
Location: Distal to maxillary lateral incisor tooth; mesial to maxillary first premolar tooth.
Eruption: 19 months (deciduous); 11 to 12 years (permanent).
Key Features: Crown, root, incisal margin, cingulum, and lingual fossae.
Nerve Supply: Superior dental plexus.
Arterial Supply: Anterior superior alveolar arteries.
Key Features & Anatomical Relations
The maxillary canine tooth is the single canine tooth that is found in a quadrant of the maxillary 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 maxillary canine tooth is located:
- distal to the maxillary lateral incisor tooth;
- mesial to the maxillary first premolar tooth.
The root of the maxillary canine tooth is lodged in a dental alveolus of the maxilla.
Development
The deciduous maxillary 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 nineteenth month after birth and the development of the root is completed during the fourth year.
The permanent maxillary 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 eleventh to twelfth years and the development of the root is completed during the thirteenth to fifteenth years (Nelson, 2014).
Function
As with all canines, the maxillary 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.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Maxillary Canine
The permanent maxillary canine lacks the guiding force during the process of eruption into the oral cavity because of extra space in the apical part of the maxilla resulting from a hypoplastic or missing lateral incisor.
