Molar

In kid words

"Molars are your big back teeth, the wide ones that do most of the chewing work for you." They have little dips and valleys across the top, so they need an extra-good brushing. A few brand new molars even show up one day without any wiggly tooth coming out first, which can be a fun surprise to notice together.

The parent version

Molars are the wide, multi-cusped teeth toward the back of the mouth, built mainly for grinding and chewing rather than biting or tearing. A full set of baby teeth already includes molars, and permanent molars arrive later to take over the same job in the adult set.

Two permanent molars, often nicknamed the six-year molar and the twelve-year molar for around when mainstream dental sources say they tend to appear, are worth knowing about for one particular reason: unlike most permanent teeth, neither one replaces a baby tooth. They simply grow in further back, in space that never held a tooth before, so there is no wiggly tooth or gap to signal they are on the way. Molars also tend to have deeper grooves across the chewing surface than other teeth, a detail mainstream guidance treats as worth extra attention when it comes to keeping them clean. Ask your pediatric dentist about the timing and condition of your own child's molars.

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Where you might hear it at our office

Molars are a big part of why preventative care matters so much at our office. Those deep grooves are prime real estate for BPA-free dental sealants, a coating we place to help keep cavities from ever getting a foothold there. A comprehensive exam at a routine visit is also usually how a brand new six-year or twelve-year molar first gets noticed, since nothing about its arrival makes an announcement on its own.

If a molar ever needs more than a sealant, that stays a conversation with your pediatric dentist rather than a guess at home. Molar is just one entry in the larger Kids' Dental Dictionary, ready whenever another word from a visit needs translating.

Related words

Cusp. Bicuspid. Sealant.

Parents ask us

What is a six-year molar?

It is one of the first permanent molars, nicknamed for around when mainstream dental sources say it tends to arrive. Unlike most adult teeth, it grows in without any baby tooth being lost first, appearing further back in the mouth instead. Ask your pediatric dentist to point it out at your child's next checkup.

Do molars ever replace a baby tooth?

Not directly. The permanent molars that arrive later grow in behind the existing teeth rather than replacing anything, so there is no baby molar wiggling loose right beforehand. Baby molars are eventually replaced by bicuspids instead. Your pediatric dentist can explain what is happening at any stage.

Why do molars need extra attention when it comes to brushing?

Their chewing surface has deeper grooves than a flatter tooth like an incisor, which can make them harder to clean completely with a toothbrush alone. That is part of why they come up so often in conversations about sealants. Ask your pediatric dentist what fits your child's molars best.

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