TEETH FOR KIDS
Figure 1. Structure of a tooth.
Figure 2. Types of teeth.
Figure 3. Types of teeth activity.
Figure 4. Looking after your teeth.
Figure 5. The teeth of various different animals.
Figure 6. Whose skull is this?
Figure 7. Dinosaur teeth
Structure of a tooth
Your teeth are involved in the first stage of digestion. Teeth chop, grind, and chew that is then mixed with saliva. Saliva contains enzymes that begin to break down food (see Figure 1).
Type of teeth
See Figure 2.
Worksheet: What's In Your Mouth
See Figure 3.
Looking After Your Teeth
It is really important that you look after your teeth, as you only have one set of adult teeth, which have to last you your entire life! See Figure 4.
Different animals, different teeth
Find out why all animals do not have the same types of teeth and what they use their teeth for. The teeth in an animal skull can tell you lots about it. The type, shape, and number of teeth can tell you about the animal's diet (see Figure 5).
Activity: Match the skull to the animal
Can you work out who the skulls belong to. Choose from: chimpanzee, human, crocodile, rabbit, sabre tooth tiger, deer, Tyrannosaurus Rex, or lion (see Figure 6).
Dinosaur Teeth
It is possible to learn about extinct animals from their teeth. Teeth are harder than bone, so they fossilize more quickly. There have been lots of examples of dinosaur teeth discovered. From these teeth it is possible to tell the types of food the dinosaur ate, how they obtained their food, and their digestive systems. In fact some species of dinosaur are only known from their fossilized teeth (see Figure 7).