Lower first secondary molar tooth at a glance
- What it is
- The permanent lower first molar, the largest lower tooth and the first permanent tooth to erupt.
- Location
- It lies in the lower dental arch, behind the second premolar; it usually has two roots.
- Function
- It grinds food.
- Body system
- Digestive · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA55704 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Typical eruption age: about 6 years.
- FDI notation: 36 (left) and 46 (right).
- It usually has five cusps and two roots (mesial and distal), and is the first permanent tooth to erupt (the 'six-year molar').
- Its pulp and periodontium are supplied by the inferior alveolar nerve (CN V3), so an inferior alveolar nerve block numbs the lower teeth on that side.
Clinical relevance
Dental caries and periodontal disease are the main causes of tooth loss. Its early eruption makes it one of the teeth most often affected by caries.
Structures next to the lower first secondary molar tooth
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Lower second secondary premolar tooth · digestive
- Sublingual gland · digestive
- Mylohyoid · muscular
- Lower second secondary molar tooth · digestive
- Lower first secondary premolar tooth · digestive
- Submandibular gland · digestive
- Upper first secondary molar tooth · digestive
- Hyoglossus · muscular
- Genioglossus · muscular
- Gingiva of lower jaw · digestive
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Lower first secondary molar tooth (FMA55704). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §23.1 Overview of the Digestive System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.