Teeth

Teeth are vital organs of vertebrates of which the main function is to bite and chew food into pieces. Human teeth are always an essential concern in appearance and beauty, and they play an important role in everything from word pronunciation to the protection of support organs. The right anatomical shape and arrangement of teeth are the basis for these functions. Each tooth contains three hard calcified tissues, including enamel, dentin, and cementum, and one soft tissue, pulp, which contains blood vessels, nerves, and is connected with the periodontal tissue by a narrow root canal. The development, formation, composition, microstructure, optical and mechanical properties, and common defects of and damages to human teeth are reviewed in this chapter. This knowledge is of importance in restorative dentistry for designing preventive treatments to maintain tissue integrity and to replace damaged tissues with synthetic materials (e.g. ceramics, which mimic the natural appearance and performance of teeth).