The mandibular lateral incisor is the

tooth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

located distally (away from the midline of the

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

) from both

mandibular central incisor The mandibular central incisor is the tooth located on the jaw, adjacent to the midline of the face. It is mesial (toward the midline of the face) from both mandibular lateral incisors. As with all incisors, its function includes shearing or cutt ...

s of the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

and mesially (toward the midline of the face) from both

mandibular canine The mandibular canine is the tooth located distally (away from the midline of the face) from both mandibular lateral incisors of the mouth but mesially (toward the midline of the face) from both mandibular first premolars. Both the maxillary and ...

s. As with all

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whe ...

s, their function is for

shearing Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a '' shearer''. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (a sheep may be said to have been "shorn" or ...

or cutting food during

mastication Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow a more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, th ...

, commonly known as chewing. There are no

cusp A cusp is the most pointed end of a curve. It often refers to cusp (anatomy), a pointed structure on a tooth. Cusp or CUSP may also refer to: Mathematics * Cusp (singularity), a singular point of a curve * Cusp catastrophe, a branch of bifurc ...

s on the teeth. Instead, the surface area of the tooth used in eating is called an incisal ridge or incisal edge. Though relatively the same, there are some minor differences between the

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

(baby) mandibular lateral incisor and that of the

permanent Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook Other uses * Permanent (mathematics), a concept in linear algebra * Permanent (cy ...

mandibular lateral incisor. In the

universal system of notation The Universal Numbering System, sometimes called the "American System", is a dental notation system commonly used in the United States. Most of the rest of the world uses the FDI World Dental Federation notation, accepted as an international st ...

, the deciduous mandibular lateral incisors are designated by a letter written in uppercase. The right deciduous mandibular lateral incisor is known as "Q", and the left one is known as "N". The international notation has a different system of notation. Thus, the right deciduous mandibular lateral incisor known as "82", and the left one is known as "72". In the universal system of notation, the permanent mandibular lateral incisors are designated by a number. The right permanent mandibular lateral incisor is known as "26", and the left one is known as "23". In the

Palmer notation Palmer notation (sometimes called the "Military System" and named for 19th-century American dentist Dr. Corydon Palmer from Warren, Ohio) is a dental notation (tooth numbering system). Despite the adoption of the FDI World Dental Federation notati ...

, a number is used in conjunction with a symbol designating in which quadrant the tooth is found. For this tooth, the left and right lateral incisors would have the same number, "2", but the right one would have the symbol, "┐", over it, while the left one would have, "┌". The international notation has a different numbering system than the previous two, and the right permanent mandibular lateral incisor is known as "42", and the left one is known as "32".

References

*Ash, Major M. and Stanley J. Nelson, 2003. ''Wheeler’s Dental Anatomy, Physiology, and Occlusion.'' 8th edition. Types of teeth Human mouth anatomy {{Tooth anatomy