How many roots and root canals do teeth have? from Jakes lessor's blog

It’s important to know the number of roots and root canals your teeth have in order to ensure your dentist or periodontist performs the right dental procedure during any kind of oral surgery (like root canal therapy or crown work). Otherwise, you may end up with an unexpected trip back to the dentist’s office! Here’s a chart that shows how many roots and root canals each tooth has and what percentage of total teeth fall into each category (the percentages are rounded).


 


Counting the Roots

Teeth have four separate root systems, but that doesn't mean a single tooth has four different roots. In fact, most of your teeth (the molars, for example) only have one or two main roots. How many of your teeth have three or four main roots depends on which tooth we're talking about. For example, both premolars and molars usually only consist of two main roots—however, sometimes a third or fourth root exists as well. The way to determine how many total roots are present in any given tooth is by looking at its tooth chart with numbers—yes, there's actually a numerical system designed to describe what's going on beneath your gums!


A Bit About Root Canals

What are root canals? Root canal therapy is a common treatment option for teeth with damaged or infected pulp, which is located inside your tooth chart numbers. The pulp serves as a protective covering for your tooth's inner nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues. Inside your tooth, there are tiny channels that run from your teeth to your jawbone (root canal).


Teeth Have Two Incisors, Four Premolars, and Six Molars

Although you may think of your teeth as having four incisors, eight premolars, and six molars, there are actually two separate sets of incisors (4+4=8), each with their own tooth numbers. You have one set of upper central incisors (two teeth) followed by another set (four teeth) for a total of six upper central incisors. There are also two lower central incisors (2x2=4), followed by another set (four teeth) for a total of six lower central incisors. The same pattern applies to all your other teeth—your uppers have their own tooth numbers, as do your lowers.


Additional Information

There are 32 permanent teeth, which include an upper right canine, upper left canine, four incisors in both upper and lower arches, eight premolars on top and bottom sets of teeth, six molars on top and bottom sets of teeth. There are also two wisdom teeth that aren’t a part of a full set of adult teeth. These third molars usually show up at around 17 years old but sometimes don’t start to develop until you reach 25 or 30 years old. There are 20 primary tooth positions that include 8 in your upper jaw (maxillary) bone structure, 10 in your lower jaw (mandibular) bone structure.


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