Read and analyze the text very carefully and create a topic outline or a

sentence outline.

Your teeth and the structure of your mouth play important roles in your ability to

eat, speak, and stay healthy. Everyone has several different types of teeth. Each type

has a unique name with specific number of teeth, has development, has a slightly

different shape, and performs different jobs and purpose.

The teeth in the front of your mouth, and the easiest to see, are called incisors.

There are four incisors on the top and four on the bottom. Incisors are usually the first

teeth to erupt — at around 6 months for your baby teeth, and between ages 6 and 8

for your adult set. Incisors are shaped like tiny chisels with flat ends that are sharp.

These teeth are used for cutting and chopping food. They are the first teeth to chew

most food we eat.

The pointed teeth on either side of your incisors are called canine teeth. People

have a total of four canine teeth, two on top and two on the bottom. Primary canines

generally appear between 16 and 20 months, with the upper canines coming in just

ahead of the lower canines. Because they are pointed and sharp, they are used to tear

food.

Next to your canine teeth are the premolars. You have eight premolars in all,

four on top and four on the bottom. The first premolars appear around age 10, with the

second premolars arriving about a year later. They have a completely different shape

than both the incisors and canines. That is because premolars are bigger, stronger,

and have ridges – all of which makes them perfect for crushing and grinding food.

Finally, there are your molars. You have eight of these, four on the top and four

on the bottom. Molars are the toughest of the teeth. They are wider and stronger than

premolars, and they have more ridges. Molars work closely with your tongue to help

you swallow food. The tongue sweeps chewed food to the back of your mouth, where

the molars grind it until it is mashed up and ready to be swallowed.

By age twenty, four more molars grow in the back of the mouth, one in each

corner. These are called the wisdom teeth. They appear between 12 and 28 months,

People do not need wisdom teeth now, but many years ago these teeth were

necessary to help people chew tough plants, which were an important part of the

human diet. Now, many people get their wisdom teeth pulled by a dentist, a doctor

who takes care of teeth, to keep them from crowding their other teeth.