How Many Teeth Do Adults Have: Everything You Need to Know

There are more than 200,000 dentists working across the United States and it’s a good job too! Your adult teeth come in between the ages of 6 and 21 years old and have to last you for the rest of your life. So taking care of them is extremely important.

The more you know about your adult teeth, the easier it will be to look after them. So how many teeth do adults have and when do they come through?

Sporting injuries are another common cause of tooth loss. You can protect your teeth from this by wearing a mouthguard whenever you play contact sports. If you do happen to lose a tooth or have ones that have been damaged, then you may want to benefit from specialist prosthodontics in London or elsewhere.

Read on to find out more about the number of adult teeth you should have.

How Many Teeth do Adults Have?

Your childhood set of teeth, otherwise known as milk teeth, usually start falling out around the age of 5 or 6. This happens as your adult teeth come through and push the old ones out. By the age of 14, the majority of these will have come through.

In total, you will get 32 adult teeth, which means the adult teeth number is 12 greater than the number of milk teeth that you will have. An adult teeth chart includes four incisors, four canines, eight premolars, and twelve molars.

Your final four molars are also known as wisdom teeth and these come in between the ages of 17 and 21.

How Many Teeth Do Adults Have on Top and Bottom?

Well, your teeth are split evenly between your top and bottom jaws. This means you have 16 on the top and 16 on the bottom.

However, how many adult teeth you have along your top and bottom jaws also depends on when and if your wisdom teeth come in.

What Are Wisdom Teeth?

Your wisdom teeth are a final set of four molars, which comes through at the back of your mouth. You have one on the top and one on the bottom on either side of your mouth.

However, not everyone’s wisdom teeth come through at the same time, if at all.

On top of this, you may find that your dentist recommends removing your wisdom teeth after they’ve come through. They can do this if your mouth is overcrowded, if you have an infection, or if you get an impacted wisdom tooth.

If your wisdom teeth never come through you will only have 28 in total. So you can end up with anything between 28 and 32 teeth in your adult life.

Other Causes of Tooth Loss

Of course, other dental issues can result in you having to have teeth removed by your dentist.

This can happen if you develop tooth decay or gum disease. This is why it is extremely important to speak to your dentist as soon as possible if you find that you have a loose adult tooth.

Sporting injuries are another common cause of tooth loss. You can protect your teeth from this by wearing a mouthguard whenever you play contact sports.

Get Help With Your Adult Teeth Today!

So now you know the answer to the question “how many teeth do adults have?” and why looking after them is so important. For more great tips on how to care for your teeth, keep scrolling now!