Canine tooth

Author: Nicola McLaren, MSc • Reviewer: Dimitrios Mytilinaios, MD, PhD
Last reviewed: June 12, 2024
Reading time: 2 minutes

The canine, also known as the cuspid, is a tooth located in all four quadrants of the mouth as the third tooth from the midline (central incisor > lateral incisor > canine). It is a sharp tooth with a single cusp, designed to tear or pierce food. Humans have four canine teeth: two maxillary (upper), left and right, and two mandibular (lower), left and right.

As is typical of the anatomy of all single-rooted teeth, canines have a crown, a neck, and a root. The root is the portion that anchors to the bone through the dental supporting tissues (e.g. the periodontal ligament). The outer surface of the crown is covered by a layer of enamel that coats the underlying dentin. Internal to the dentin and at the center of the tooth, there is a cavity that contains the pulp, which in turn contains the neurovascular bundle of the tooth. This pulp extends from the pulp chamber, following the length of the root canal. In most cases, canines are characterized by having a single root canal.

This article discusses the anatomy of the canine tooth.

Key points about the canine tooth
Definition	Located as the third tooth from the midline in all four quadrants of dentition
Function	Tearing and piercing food during the process of mastication

Learn more about the teeth with this study unit:

Test your knowledge about teeth with the help of the following quiz:

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

References:

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. (2017). Clinically oriented anatomy (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Standring, S. (2016). Gray's Anatomy (41st ed.). Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.

Canine tooth: want to learn more about it?

Our engaging videos, interactive quizzes, in-depth articles and HD atlas are here to get you top results faster.

What do you prefer to learn with?

Videos Quizzes Both

“I would honestly say that Kenhub cut my study time in half.” – Read more.

Kim Bengochea, Regis University, Denver

Canine tooth

Sources

Learning anatomy isn't impossible. We're here to help.

Want access to this video?

Want access to this quiz?

Want access to this gallery?

Learning anatomy isn't impossible.
We're here to help.