You may want to supplement whatever you find in this site on the design of oral structures with a section on teeth in Wikipedia – they cover many important topics with good references to the literature in areas you may want to delve into more deeply.

Just consider, for example, that there are 52 teeth growing in the bone of the jaws at birth, and that each is unique, and that each developing tooth is positioned precisely (ideally) where it should erupt into the mouth so that you have a properly functioning mouth – able to speak clearly, chew effectively, smile in an attractive way, have a nice profile and that everything is relatively resistant to abuse.

Just something to think about: each tooth develops from a particular unique cell and all of these originate embrionically in the nervous system of the spinal cord – and yet, they ALL, unfailingly wander around the body, in utero, to find their way to (or near enough to it) exactly the correct place in the developing jaws! How might this be possible?

Considering the mouth and teeth are by far the most complex organ in the human body – it behooves us to spend some time looking at every aspect of how it is DESIGNED to work, before discussing how it might NOT work and WHAT to do about it.

Section II is divided up into Six Chapters:

Chapter II.1 – The Teeth – structure and development

Chapter II.2 – The Living Tooth – cell types that are essential to tooth viability, what they do and where they are.

Chapter II.3 – Supporting Structures – how the tooth is connected to the jaws

Chapter II.4 – The Temporomandibular Joint – how the jaws are hinged together

Chapter II.5 – The Bite – how the teeth in the jaws come together when you close your mouth, or move your lower jaw around

Chapter II.6 – Esthetics – how the teeth impact your overall appearance