Your teeth are actually in four basic shapes. The two front teeth and the ones on either side of them are called "incisors." There are four on the top and four on bottom, and as the name suggests, they are quite sharp. These teeth are used for cutting into and chopping up food.

Next to the incisors are pointed teeth called "canines." There are four of these too - and if you look in the mirror, you will see that they look like dogs' teeth, which is where the name comes from, with two on the top and two on bottom. Because these teeth are pointed and also sharp, they are used to tear food.

Next to your canines are your "premolars" - also called, in the technical books, bicuspid teeth. You have eight premolars in all, four on top and four on the bottom. You'll need to open a bit wider to see these teeth, but when you do, you'll notice that their shape is completely different from both incisors and canines. Premolars are bigger, stronger, and have ridges, which make them perfect for crushing and grinding food.

If you open your mouth really wide, you'll see your "molars." You have eight of these, four on the top and four on the bottom.

Molars are the toughest teeth. Wider and stronger than premolars, they work closely with your tongue to help you swallow food. The tongue sweeps chewed-up food to the back of your mouth, where the molars grind it up until it's ready to be swallowed.

The last teeth a person gets are wisdom teeth. These are sometimes called third molars. They are all the way in the back of the mouth, one in each corner.