‫بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم‬

‫وقل رب زدنى علما‬

Tooth Morphology

Permanent
Maxillary Anterior
Teeth
Prof. Dr. Naglaa Bahgat Nagy
 Tooth Grouping
Anterior teeth:
 Incisors (central & lateral).
Canine.

Posterior teeth:
Premolars (1st & 2nd ).
Molars (1st & 2nd & 3rd )
 Characteristic Features of All
Incisors
(Maxillary & Mandibular)
• In each arch, there are four incisors (two incisors in each
quadrant). They are located in the front of the mouth. The
first incisor (the central incisor) is next to the midline. The
second incisor (the lateral incisor) is distal to it.
• Incisors are single-rooted teeth with a relatively sharp thin
blade-like crowns .
• Their incisal surfaces (the incisal ridges/edges) are designed
to cut food without the application of heavy forces. Incisor
means “that which makes an incision, or cut”.
• Their labial and lingual (palatal) surface are trapezoidal with
the shortest uneven side located cervically.
• Their proximal surfaces (mesial & distal) are triangular in
shape with the base of the triangle located cervically.
 Characteristic Features of
Maxillary Incisors (Central &
Lateral)
• Maxillary incisors by definition arise in the pre-maxilla (which is
merged into the maxilla in humans).

• When the mouth is closed, the maxillary incisors are normally

located facial to the mandibular teeth (overjet & overbite).

• The maxillary central incisors occlude with the mandibular

central and lateral incisors.

• Overbite refers to the extent of vertical overlap of the maxillary

central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.

• Overjet is the horizontal distance between the maxillary anterior

teeth and the mandibular anterior teeth.
Overbite (vertical) & Overjet
(horizontal
 Maxillary Permanent
Incisors
 Characteristic Features.

 Notation (Numbering) System.

 Chronology.

 Morphology of its:
 Labial Surface.
 Palatal (lingual) Surface.
 Mesial Surface.
 Distal Surface.
 Incisal Surface (Ridge &Edge).

 Pulp Cavity (pulp chamber & pulp canal).

 Characteristic Features of
Maxillary Central incisor
 The most prominent
teeth in the mouth. It
is almost the longest
inciso-cervically of
all human crown.

 It is the widest tooth

mesio-distally in
comparison to any
other anterior tooth.
 Chronology

Evidence of 3-4 months

calcification

Enamel completed 3-4 months

Eruption 7-8 years

Notation(Numbering) System

Maxillary Permanent Central

Incisor
RIGHT LEFT

UNIVERSAL 8 9

PALMER 1| |1

FDI 11 21
 Morphology of Permanent
Maxillary Central Incisor
“The Right Side”

1
1
FD
I
Dimensions of Maxillary Central
Incisor
 Morphology
(Surface & Outlines)
1. Labial (Buccal) Aspect.

2. Palatal (Lingual) Aspect.

3. Mesial Aspect.

4. Distal Aspect.

5. Incisal Aspect.
 1. The Labial Aspect
Crown Surface:
 Trapezoidal (shortest cervically).
 Slightly convex (in all directions) crest at cervical third).
 Two labial developmental grooves .
 Imbrication lines (incremental lines)
 Incisal Ridges (mamelons).
(a). Crown Outlines:
1. Mesial outline:
 Almost straight or slightly convex.
 Crest of curvature at the incisal third.
 The mesio-labial incisal angel is a sharp right angle.
1. Distal outline:
 More convex than the mesial outline.
 Crest approaches the junction of middle and incisal thirds.
 The disto-labial incisal angel is more rounded than the
mesial one.
1. Incisal outline:
 Almost straight mesio-distally.
 Mamelons in newly erupted (incisal ridge & incisal edge).
1. Cervical outline:
 Convex root wise.
(b). Root Surface:
• It is cone shaped with a blunt apex.
 The Labial Outlines
The Mesial, Incisal, Distal & Cervical Outlines

• The mesial outline is almost straight,

crest of curvature (contact area) near
the incisal angel.
• The mesio-incisal angle is almost a right
angle.
• The disto-incisal angle is round.
• The distal outline is slightly convex,
crest of curvature (contact area) near
the junction of the middle and incisal
thirds (more cervical than the mesial).
• The cervical outline is convex root-wise.
 The Labial Aspect
(b) The Root (Root Surface &
Outlines)
 Single root.

 Slightly longer than the crown by

about 2-3 mm.
13.0
m
• Cone-shaped.

 Thick in the cervical third.

 Narrows in the middle third and 10.5

m
apical third and ends with a blunt
apex.
 2. The Palatal (Lingual)
 The crown:
Aspect
 The crown tapers lingually.

 Lingual Surface:
 Trapezoidal (the shortest is located cervically).
 Convex, concave, slightly convex.
 The lingual aspect presents a distinctive lingual fossa
that is bordered by mesial and distal marginal ridges,
the incisal ridge and the prominent cingulum at the
cervical third.
 Mesial & Distal Outlines:
 Mesial and distal outlines are the reverse of those
found on the labial surface.

• Cervical Outline: Convex root wise.

• Incisal Outline: almost straight with sharp-right mesio-

incisal angle and rounded disto-incisal angle.

 The Root:
 The root tapers lingually.
 It is much narrower lingually than labially.
 3. Mesial Aspect:
• The Crown:
– Triangular in shape.
– The incisal ridge is on line with the center of the
root.
– Location of the oval contact area.
 Cervico-incisally in the incisal third.
 Labio-palatally, in the center
The Crown Outlines:
– Labial outline:
• Convex.
• Crest of curvature on the cervical third.
– Palatal (lingual) outline:
• Convex at the cingulum.
• Concave at the mesial marginal ridge.
• Slightly convex at the incisal ridge.
– Cervical outline:
• Concave root wise.
– Incisal outline:
• In newly erupted teeth, it is rounded.
• In teeth with occlusal wear, it is straight and
slops cervically from labial to palatal.
• The root:
– Cone shaped.
– Labial outline is straighter than the palatal
– The apex is blunt.
 4. Distal Aspect:
• Distal Surface:

 There is little difference between mesial

and distal outline.

 The distal surface is more convex inciso-

cervically than the mesial surface.

 The contact area is somewhat smaller and

located at the junction between the incisal

and middle thirds.

• The cervical line is shallower distally than

mesially.
 5. The incisal Aspect:
The incisal aspect is roughly triangular in shape.

The crown is wider mesio-distally than labio-lingually

(which is the reverse of all other teeth except

mandibular molars).

The incisal ridge (edge) is relatively straight mesio-

distally. D M
The incisal ridge is centered over the root.

The labial surface is convex.

The palatal surface shows convex cingulum that

forms the crest of contour palatally.

The mesial and distal outlines converge palatally and

form definite line angles with both the palatal and

labial surfaces.
 Morphology of the Pulp
Cavity:
• The pulp is the soft connective tissue that has the
nerves and the blood supply of the tooth.
• Frequently , the pulp chamber has three pulp horns.
• In nearly all maxillary central incisors, there is only one
root, one canal and one foramen.
• At the level of the cervical line, the shape of the canal is
triangular but becomes circular at the middle level of
the root.
• Although the root canal is generally straight, the most
common points of curvature is near the apex, and their
direction is more common toward the distal and lingual.