Vampire teeth
THEY’RE CALLED canines, cuspids, or eye teeth. It’s the closest things humans have to fangs. The world has been fascinated with Dracula since the novel by Bram Stoker was first published in 1897. For one, the quintessential vampire and his infamous fangs have been featured on film over 30 times.
During this year’s Halloween, fangs were all around, from candies to customized dental caps fit for the Count from Transylvania. The rest of the year, little attention, if any, is placed on pointy teeth.
Except for dentists. That’s when canines interfere with the way people speak or eat because of the teeth’s position, size and shape.
Canines are considered the cornerstone of the mouth because of their location and because they help guide the other teeth into proper position when chewing, says Associate Professor Aikaterini Papathanasiou, Graduate Program Director of Advanced Education in Esthetic and Operative Dentistry at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
Canines play an important role in a well-proportioned smile. That’s because canines are prominent front teeth which affect the smile and speech, especially when pronouncing the “s” and “f” sounds.
“People come to the dentist all the time looking for ways to improve their smile,” says Dr. Papathanasiou, a dentist who has never encountered teeth so pointy they could qualify as vampire teeth.
Nor has the world, for that matter, until the 1950s when fangs were a must for movie Draculas. Check it out: Bela Lugosi, the popular flick Dracula in the 1930s, had no fangs. Even Bram Stoker’s Dracula only had “sharp teeth”.
Not so with humans. When young children acquire their baby teeth, the canines are one of the last to come.
Canines are located between the four front teeth (or incisors) and the flatter bicuspids (or premolars). There are four canines: two upper and two lower.
The upper canines are the longest teeth in the mouth and have the longest roots of all the teeth. The lower canines have the longest crowns, the parts of teeth seen above the gums.
While incisors cut food, and bicuspids and molars do the grinding, the canines are primarily for tearing up food.
Many people have sharper (pointier, if you will) canines because of DNA and genetics. When the canines are misaligned, rotated, or incorrectly spaced, they may also appear to look longer or sharper (like fangs, if you may say so).
Orthodontics take care of the canies if they are malpositioned. Orthodontists practice specialty dentistry that corrects mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns.
Restorations such as crowns or porcelain veneers may correct pointy tooth in a process known as recontouring which reshapes sharp edges. Bonding can also alter a tooth’s shape.
And before we forget: never and never try to use a file to reshape your canines as it may lead to injury, pain and tooth loss.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e- mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./