Terminologies in Tooth Morphology

Terminologies in description of dentition and teeth

Homodont: Teeth are uniformly of similar shape in a dentition as in alligators.

Heterodont dentition:  Teeth are regionally specialized into classes of different types as in humans and primates.

Monophyodont dentition: The animal has a single generation of teeth only as in walrus and seals.

Diphyodont dentition: The condition of having two generation of teeth as in humans.

Polyphyodont dentition: Many generations of teeth as seen in many reptiles.   

Anodont: Absence of teeth, but they may have teeth or teeth like structures during the course of development as in certain species of whales and anteaters.

Bunodont : (Greek, meaning a mound or hill) teeth have cone-shaped tubercles or cones; they are low height occlusocervically with well-developed roots. An example is the posterior teeth in the pig.

Selenodont: (Greek, meaning the moon) teeth have cusps transformed into half-moon shapes. The teeth themselves are elongated mesiodistally. The concave side faces laterally in the upper jaw; lingually in the lower jaw. The grinding stroke is thus from the outside inward and from the inside outward. An example is in the cheek teeth of sheep.

Sectorial:  (Latin,  secare meaning to cut) teeth are blade-like teeth adapted to cutting the diet into pieces and swallowing them whole. A specialized variant in carnivores are the carnassials which consist of the last premolar in the upper jaw and the first molar of the lower jaw.

Lophodont : (Greek,  meaning a crest) molars are ridged teeth that have transverse ridges as in the tapir

Bilophodont : Refers to molars that have two sets of transverse ridges.

Polylophodont molars have many ridges as seen in the elephant molar. The power stroke is where the lower molars slide forward against the upper molars.

Brachydont (Greek, meaning a short) teeth have low crowns and well-developed roots. This condition is seen in humans.

Hypsodont (Greek, meaning height) teeth have long crowns and short roots as seen in the horse. It them, it is a function adaptation for continuous wear sustained by chewing grass with a high abrasive silica content.

Haplodont (Greek, meaning a simple) teeth have simple crowns and roots, as seen in the dolphin.

Tusks are incisors or canines of continuous growth that protrude beyond the lips when the mouth is closed. They include the following: (1) The incisors of the Elephant and Hippopotamus; (2) The left incisor of the Narwhal; (3) Canines of the Wild Boar, Wart Hog and Walrus.