Human Tooth Form and Arrangement from the Anthropologic Approach

T HE CONCEPT PREVAILS IN dental teaching that the occluding surfaces of the posterior teeth should retain the same form throughout their lifetime that they had at the time of eruption. While it is considered normal for the mamelons to wear off of the anterior teeth, the cusps of the posterior teeth are expected to remain as they were when they erupted. This concept of intact and well-defined cusps is evidenced by most articles and textbooks on restorative dentistry, chiefly those dealing with operative procedures and fixed partial denture restorations. It has permeated the profession to such a degree that it is a basic tenet upon which many phases of dental procedure are built. If teeth are worn, obliterating the cusps partially or completely, the condition is considered to be pathogenic, and measures are advocated to restore them to their unworn form.