Question

What is the dental formula of a normal human adult?

Answer 1

The number of each type of tooth varies from one species to another and the conventional way of describing them is by a "dental formula". The type of teeth are indicated by the first letter, and the number of teeth on one side of the upper jaw is indicated over the number of the same type of teeth on the lower jaw. Because the formula is for one side of the mouth the total number of teeth is the total in the formula x 2. The dental formula for different species are as follows where I = incisors, C = canines, P = premolars and M = molars : Man (adult) I - 2/2 C - 1/1 P - 2/2 M - 3/3 = 16 x 2 = 32