Premolar is the modern name for the tooth positioned just before the molars.

In kid words

"Premolars are the teeth between your pointy canine and your big back molars, doing a little of both jobs, ripping and crushing." Some dentists call this exact same tooth a bicuspid instead. Different word, same tooth, nothing new to remember.

The parent version

Premolars, also known as bicuspids, sit between the canines toward the front of the mouth and the molars further back. Premolar describes where the tooth sits, right before the molars in line. Bicuspid, the older name, describes its shape instead: most premolars carry two points across the biting surface.

Premolars belong only to the permanent set. A child's primary teeth go directly from canine to molar with nothing in between, so premolars ease in later, settling into the space a baby molar leaves behind once it is gone. A full set totals eight, four on top and four on the bottom, arriving only as part of the permanent teeth. Exactly when your own child's premolars arrive is a good question for your pediatric dentist.

Where you might hear it at our office

Once a permanent premolar settles in, its grooved chewing surface is exactly the kind of spot a BPA-free dental sealant is designed for, the same coating your pediatric dentist may already use on nearby molars.

A premolar coming in crowded, at an angle, or later than expected is exactly the kind of thing a routine growth check is built to catch, with your pediatric dentist walking you through anything worth watching. Browse the rest of the Kids' Dental Dictionary for any other word that came home from a visit.

Related words

Bicuspid. Canine. Molar.