Incisor: the flat front tooth built for that very first bite.

In kid words

"Your incisors are these flat front teeth, the ones you use to bite into something like an apple or a slice of pizza." They work like a little pair of scissors, snipping off a bite so your back teeth can take over the chewing. Chances are your very first tooth ever was an incisor, and it will probably be one of the first to feel wiggly someday too.

The parent version

Incisors are the flat, chisel-edged teeth at the very front of the mouth, four across the top and four across the bottom, with the canines picking up just beyond them on either side. Their thin, straight edge is built for cutting and biting, while the wider teeth further back handle the grinding.

Incisors are typically among the first teeth to arrive in a baby's mouth, and the primary incisors are usually among the first baby teeth to loosen and fall out later on, making room for the permanent incisors behind them. The order and pace can vary from one child to the next, and anything specific about your own child's teeth is worth asking your pediatric dentist directly.

Where you might hear it at our office

Because an incisor is so often a baby's very first tooth, the word tends to come up early, close to that first infant dental visit. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a first visit by the first birthday or within six months of the first tooth, and that first tooth is usually an incisor arriving right on schedule.

Years later, a wiggly incisor getting ready to fall out is a normal, even celebrated, part of a routine visit rather than a reason to worry. If another word from today's visit is still a mystery, the rest of the Kids' Dental Dictionary is right here.

Related words

Canine. Anterior teeth. Exfoliation.