Quick Facts
Location: Distal to maxillary central incisor tooth; mesial to maxillary canine tooth.
Eruption: 11 months (deciduous); 8 to 9 years (permanent).
Key Features: Crown, root, incisal margin, cingulum, and lingual fossa.
Nerve Supply: Superior dental plexus.
Arterial Supply: Anterior superior alveolar arteries.
Key Features & Anatomical Relations
The maxillary lateral incisor tooth is one of the two incisor teeth that are found in a quadrant of the maxillary dental arcade. It includes the following bony features:
- parts: crown, root, and cervical line;
- surfaces: incisal margin, and labial, lingual, mesial, and distal surfaces;
- landmarks: cingulum, marginal ridges, and lingual fossa.
The maxillary lateral incisor tooth is located:
- distal to the maxillary central incisor tooth;
- mesial to the maxillary canine tooth.
The root of the maxillary lateral incisor tooth is lodged in a dental alveolus of the maxilla.
Development
The deciduous maxillary lateral incisor tooth undergoes calcification during the sixteenth week in utero, with the development of the crown being completed during the third month after birth. Eruption of this tooth occurs during the eleventh month after birth and the development of the root is completed during the second year.
The permanent maxillary lateral incisor tooth undergoes calcification during the tenth to twelfth months after birth, with the development of the crown being completed during the fourth to fifth years. Eruption of this tooth occurs during the eighth to ninth years and the development of the root is completed during the eleventh year (Nelson, 2014).
Function
As with all incisors, the maxillary lateral incisor tooth is bladelike and specializes in the cutting (incision) of food during mastication.
References
Nelson, S. J. (2014) Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion. 10th edn.: Elsevier Health Sciences.
