Difference Between Maxillary and Mandibular Canine

Key Difference – Maxillary vs Mandibular Canine
 

Canines play an important role in dental anatomy and physiology. They are regarded as the strongest type of teeth used in ripping and tearing food. They assist the incisors in the mastication process. There are 4 canines that are situated in the four corners of the mouth. Therefore, they are termed as ‘cornerstones of the dental arches.’ Canines can be categorized as maxillary canines and mandibular canines. Maxillary canines are of two types; the right and left. They are attached to the maxilla bone and is situated in the upper jaw. They erupt at the age of 10-12 years. Mandibular canines are two types; right and left. They are attached to the mandible which is the lower jaw. They erupt at the age of 9 – 10 years. The key difference between the maxillary and mandibular canines is the location of the teeth. The maxillary canines are attached to the upper jaw whereas the mandibular canines are attached to the lower jaw.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Maxillary Canine
3. What is a Mandibular Canine
4. Similarities Between Maxillary and Mandibular Canine
5. Side by Side Comparison – Maxillary vs Mandibular Canine in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is a Maxillary Canine?

Maxillary canines are two in number and are located in attached to the upper jaw. They show later development in comparison with the mandibular canines. The permanent maxillary canines erupt at the age of 9-10 years. The crown of the maxillary canine is large and has the longest root with thickened edges.

Figure 01: Maxillary Canine

The anatomy of the maxillary canine can be described in different aspects; labial aspect, lingual aspect, mesial aspect, distal aspect and incisal aspect.

Labial Aspect

The mesial half resembles a part of the lateral incisor whereas the distal half resembles a part of the premolar. The crown and the root appear to be narrower. The curvature of the tooth differs. Mesially, it is convex whereas distally, it is concave in the labial aspect. The crown of the tooth appears smooth.

Lingual Aspect

In the lingual aspect of the maxillary canine, the crown and the root are narrower. The lingual surface is smooth.

Mesial Aspect

Mesial aspect of the maxillary canine takes a wedge shape. The canines appear as a straight line from the mesial aspect, and the surface shows a convex curvature.

Distal Aspect

Similar to the mesial aspect, although the curvature line shows less curvature in comparison with the mesial aspect.

Incisal Aspect

The maxillary canine show symmetry when viewed from the incisal aspect.

What is a Mandibular Canine?

Mandibular canines are the canines in the lower jaw or are attached to the mandible. They erupt earlier, and the permanent mandibular canines appear in the age of 9-10 years. There are two main types of mandibular canines; the right mandibular canine and the left mandibular canine.

Figure 02: Mandibular Canines

Similar to the maxillary canines, mandibular canines can also be characterized based on different aspects.

Labial Aspect

The Lingual surface of the mandibular canine is smooth, and the crown appears longer than the maxillary canine. The outline of the crown is straight with the root. The mandibular canine root is short, and the root curvatures are mostly infrequent.

Lingual Aspect

The lingual surface of the canine is flat, and the cingulum is smooth. The lingual part of the mandibular canine root is narrowed.

Mesial Aspect

The mesial aspect of the mandibular canine is characterized by the less curvature of the crown. The root of the mandibular canine is similar to that of the maxillary canine.

Distal Aspect

Similar to that of the maxillary canine and does not show much differentiation between the mesial aspect and the distal aspect.

Incisal Aspect

Cusp tips and ridges are more inclined towards a lingual direction.

What are the Similarities Between Maxillary and Mandibular Canine

• Both have right and left types.
• Both perform the same function of tearing food during the process of mastication.
• Both are situated in the corner of the jaw hence known as ‘cornerstones’
• Both are placed next to the lateral incisors.
• Both are characterized by different viewing aspects – labial, lingual, mesial, distal and incisal.
• Both have similar mesial aspects.

What is the Difference Between Maxillary and Mandibular Canine?

Summary – Maxillary vs Mandibular Canine

The dental anatomy is an interesting and widely studied area as the information gathered through dental anatomy is important in dental surgeries and designing of dental equipment such dentures, palettes. The maxillary and mandibular canines are two types of teeth situated in the upper jaw and lower jaw respectively. They differ slightly in their structure and view. Collectively all four canines function to aid the process of mastication by tearing the food to form the food bolus. This can be described as the difference between Maxillary and Mandibular Canine.

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Reference:

1.“The Permanent Canines: Maxillary and Mandibular (Dental Anatomy, Physiology, and Occlusion) Part 1.” Whatwhenhow RSS, what-when-how.com/dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion/the-permanent-canines-maxillary-and-mandibular-dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion-part-1/.
2.“The Permanent Canines: Maxillary and Mandibular (Dental Anatomy, Physiology, and Occlusion) Part 2.” Whatwhenhow RSS, what-when-how.com/dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion/the-permanent-canines-maxillary-and-mandibular-dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion-part-2/.
3.“The Permanent Canines: Maxillary and Mandibular (Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion) Part 3.” Whatwhenhow RSS, what-when-how.com/dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion/the-permanent-canines-maxillary-and-mandibular-dental-anatomy-physiology-and-occlusion-part-3/.

Image Courtesy:

1.’Maxillary canine’By Ανώνυμος Βικιπαιδιστής – Own work, (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia 
2.’Mandibular canines01-01-06′ (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia 

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