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Kuwait MOH Dentist (KDLE) study materials
Kuwait MOH Dentist (KDLE) study resources

Kuwait MOH Dentist (KDLE): Dental Anatomy and Occlusion

Kuwait MOH Dentist (KDLE) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Dental Anatomy and Occlusion

This domain examines tooth identification, morphology, chronology and the static and functional relationships of the dentition. Questions often require you to translate a tooth number, identify a morphological feature, or explain why an occlusal scheme is stable.

Tooth identification and morphology

  • FDI notation uses two digits: quadrant 1 upper right, 2 upper left, 3 lower left, 4 lower right; teeth 1-8 from midline. Primary teeth use quadrants 5-8 and teeth 1-5.
  • Universal numbering runs 1-32 from the maxillary right third molar to the mandibular left third molar; primary teeth use letters A-T.
  • Permanent first molars erupt around 6 years, central incisors 6-7 years, canines 11-12 years and second molars 12-13 years. Primary central incisors erupt at 6-10 months.
  • Maxillary first molars usually have three roots; mandibular first molars have two. Premolars replace primary molars; primary second molars resemble permanent first molars.

Occlusion

  • Angle Class I has the mesiobuccal cusp of the maxillary first molar in the buccal groove of the mandibular first molar; Class II is distal, Class III mesial.
  • Normal overjet and overbite are about 2-3 mm. Canine guidance discludes posterior teeth in lateral excursion; group function shares contacts.
  • Centric relation is a maxillomandibular relationship independent of tooth contact; maximum intercuspation is tooth-determined. The curve of Spee is sagittal; the curve of Wilson is frontal.

Worked example

A question asks what tooth FDI 36 represents. Reasoning: the first digit is quadrant 3, the lower left; the second digit is 6, the first permanent molar. Therefore 36 is the lower left first permanent molar. By contrast, 46 is the lower right first molar.

Traps that cost marks

Do not read FDI quadrant 3 as lower right. Do not confuse Universal 1 with the upper right central incisor; Universal 1 is the upper right third molar. Primary second molars are not permanent first molars. Leeway space and primate spaces are normal developmental features, not pathology.