Tooth replacement

Tooth replacement is the shedding of teeth and their renewal by successor teeth. Vertebrates vary in how often replacement occurs and how many generations they produce.

Dental lamina: An epithelial band that initiates tooth development and can generate successor teeth. Its persistence or reactivation helps determine whether another tooth generation can form.
Deciduous teeth: The first generation of teeth in mammals, later replaced by permanent teeth. Their shedding is the familiar example of limited-generation replacement.
Continuous tooth replacement: Repeated replacement in which new teeth arise throughout an animal's life. It contrasts with replacement limited to a juvenile transition.
Dental occlusion: The contact relationship between upper and lower teeth when the jaws close. Replacement must preserve effective contact as teeth change in size and position.
Tooth eruption: The movement of a developing tooth into its functional position in the mouth. Successor teeth must erupt as older teeth are shed.
Permanent teeth: The later tooth generation in mammals, usually replacing deciduous teeth and lasting into adulthood. They illustrate the usual endpoint of mammalian replacement.
Mammalian dentition: The characteristic arrangement and development of teeth in mammals. Most mammals replace teeth once, rather than renewing them continuously.
Tooth wear: The loss of tooth tissue through contact, abrasion, or chemical action. Frequent replacement can compensate for wear that would otherwise impair feeding.
Odontoclast: A multinucleated cell that resorbs mineralized dental tissues, including roots of primary teeth. Root resorption loosens many teeth before their successors emerge.
Diphyodont: Having two successive sets of teeth during a lifetime. This pattern distinguishes most mammals from animals that replace teeth repeatedly.

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