MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS

Number of mandibular premolars 4

2 on the left side &

2 on the right side
Location:

Posterior to the mandibular canines & anterior to the

molars

Development:

a. Mandibular first premolars are developed from 4 lobes

like maxillary premolars

b. Mandibular second premolars are developed from 5 lobes

3 are buccal & 2 are lingual
They were named as bicuspids, which implies to the two
functioning cusps

But the form of both mandibular premolars fails to confirm to

the implications of the term bicuspid
Comparison of sizes:

Mandibular first premolar is smaller in size than the

mandibular second premolar
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MAXILLARY AND MANDIBULAR
PREMOLARS
MAXILLARY PREMOLARS

Number and size of cusps:

2 major cusps buccal &
lingual. Both are of same
size and prominent

Diameter of crown:

crown is wider bucco -
lingually than is mesio -
distally
MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS




One major cusp and one or
more minor cusps





Bucco lingual and mesio
distal diameter of the
crown is almost the same
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MAXILLARY AND MANDIBULAR
PREMOLARS (contd.)
MAXILLARY PREMOLARS

Inclination of the crown:

Buccal surface of the
crown is inclined slightly
lingually

Similarity between 2
premolars:

1
st
and 2
nd
premolars are
very similar
MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS






Buccal surface of the
crown has a strong lingual
inclination



1
st
and 2
nd
premolars are
widely different


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS:

FIRST PREMOLAR

1. Occlusal outline:

Diamond shaped

2. Mesial and distal margins:

Converge lingually

3. Prominence of buccal &
lingual cusps:

Buccal cusp is prominent
and lingual cusp is
rudimentary
SECOND PREMOLAR





Squarish or triangular




Parallel







Both cusps are equal in
size
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS:
(contd)
FIRST PREMOLAR

4. Marginal ridges:
Mesial marginal ridge is
shorter & less prominent

5. Central pit:
Totally absent

6. Transverse ridge:
It is common, linking
buccal and lingual cusps
SECOND PREMOLAR


Both the marginal ridges
are equally prominent


May be present (in three
cusp type)

No transverse ridge is
seen
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS:
(contd)
FIRST PREMOLAR

7. Inclination of mesial
marginal ridge:
Inclines cervically

8. Sloping of occlusal surface:
slopes lingually

9. Mesio lingual groove:
Present

SECOND PREMOLAR


It is horizontal


Is horizontal


Generally absent
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS:
(contd)
FIRST PREMOLAR

10. Lingual surface:
Narrower than buccal


11. Crown on buccal aspect:

Bilaterally asymmetrical
SECOND PREMOLAR



Not much narrower than
that of buccal



Bilaterally symmetrical
CHRONOLOGY AND ERUPTION OF
MANDIBULAR PREMOLARS:
Mandibular
1
st
premolar 2
nd
premolar



1
3/4
2 yrs 2
1/4
2
1/2
yrs





5 6 yrs 6 7 yrs

10 12 yrs

11 12 yrs


12 13 yrs 13 14 yrs
1. First evidence of
calcification


2. Enamel completion


3. Eruption


4. Root completion

MANDIBULAR FIRST PREMOLAR
This is functionally regarded as canine

It is the 4
th
tooth from the median line & the first posterior

tooth in the mandible

It is situated between the canine and 2
nd
premolar and has

some characteristics common to each of them
The characteristics that resemble those of the

mandibular canine are:

1. Buccal cusp is long & sharp and is the only occluding cusp

2. Bucco lingual measurement is similar to that of canine

3. Sloping of occlusal surface sharply and lingually in a cervical

direction

4. MB cusp ridge is shorter than DB cusp ridge

5. Outline form of occlusal aspect resembles that of the incisal

aspect of canine
The characteristics that resemble those of mandibular

2
nd
premolar are:

1. Except for the longer cusp, the outline of the crown & the
root from the buccal aspect, resembles the 2
nd
premolar

2. The contact areas, mesially and distally are at the
same level

3. Curvatures of the cervical line mesially & distally are similar

4. The tooth has more than one cusp
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST PREMOLAR IN
ALL ASPECTS:
BUCCAL ASPECT:
CROWN:-
From this aspect, the crown is nearly
symmetrical bilaterally, and is roughly
trapezoidal

Mesial cusp ridge is shorter than the
distal cusp ridge

Buccal cusp is high and pointed

Buccal surface is inclined lingually so
that buccal cusp is almost above the
centre of cervical cross section of the
tooth
The cuspal ridges incline about 30
0

cervically from apex of cusp

The outline form of the crown resembles
that of small canine

This surface is asymmetrical

The MB part is more convex than the DB
part, which is flatter

Mesially, the centre of the contact area is
occlusal to cervical line
CROWN:
The distal slope of the buccal cusp, usually
exhibits some concavity

The tip of the buccal cusp is pointed &
located a little mesial to the centre of
crown, buccally

The cervix of this crown is narrow
mesiodistally when compared with the
crown width at the contact areas

The buccal surface of the crown is more
convex than in maxillary premolars,
especially at the cervical & middle thirds
CROWN:
ROOT:


Root is 3 or 4 mm shorter than that of
mandibular canine


Outline of buccal portion of the root
bears a close resemblance to the canine
LINGUAL ASPECT:
Lingual cusp is low & sharp.

Crown tapers towards the lingual
surface since the lingual measurement
mesio-distally is less than that buccally.

Most of the mesial & distal surfaces of
both cusps may be seen from this
aspect.

The occlusal surface slopes towards the
lingual in a cervical direction down to
the short lingual cusp. Thus, most of the
occlusal surface of the tooth can be
seen from this aspect.
CROWN:
The cervical portion of the crown is
narrow and convex, lingually

The contact areas & marginal ridges
are pronounced & extend out above the
narrow cervical portion of the crown

The cusp tip is in alignment with the
buccal triangular ridge of the occlusal
surface

The mesial and the distal fossae are on
each side of the triangular ridge.
CROWN:
A characteristic of lingual surface of this
tooth is the mesiolingual developmental
groove.

This groove acts as a line of demarcation
between the mesiobuccal lobe & the
lingual lobe and extends into the mesial
fossa of the occlusal surface.
CROWN:
ROOT:
The root is much narrower on the lingual
side. There is a narrow ridge, smooth &
convex, along the full length of the root.

Often developmental depressions in the
root may be seen with the developmental
grooves mesially.

The root tapers evenly from cervix to a
pointed apex.
MESIAL & OCCLUSAL ASPECT
MESIAL ASPECT
CROWN:
Crown outline is roughly rhomboidal

The tip of the buccal cusp is nearly
centered over the root.

The convexity of the outline of the
lingual lobe is lingual to the outline of
the root.

The tip of the cusp will be on a line
approximately with the lingual border
of the root.

The buccal outline of the crown from
this aspect is curved from the cervical
line to the tip of the buccal cusp.
CROWN:
The crest of the curvature is near the
middle-third of the crown

This accented convexity & the location
of the crest of contour are characteristic
of all mandibular posterior teeth on the
buccal surfaces

The lingual outline of the crown is a
curved outline of less convexity
than that of the buccal surface

The crest curvature approaches the
middle-third of the crown,
lingually
CROWN:
The distance from the cervical line
lingually to the tip of the lingual cusp is
about two-third of that from the cervical
line buccally to the tip of buccal cusp.

The lingual border of Mesial MR merges
with the developmental depression.

Mesio-lingually, this harbors mesiolingual
developmental groove.

Some of the occlusal surface of crown
mesially may be seen with mesial portion
of the buccal triangular ridge.
CROWN:
The slope of this ridge parallels the mesial
marginal ridge.

The sulcus formed by the convergence of
buccal & lingual triangular ridges is directly
above the mesiolingual groove from this
aspect.

The cervical line is regular, curving occlusally

The distance between the contact area and
the cervical line is very short.

The root outline is tapered from the cervix

The lingual outline may be straight, buccal
outline more curved.

The mesial surface of the root is smooth &
flat from the buccal margin to the center.

From this point, it converges lingually
toward the root center, displaying a deep
developmental groove in this area.

ROOT:
DISTAL ASPECT
CROWN:
The distal marginal ridge is higher above the
cervix, it does not have the extreme lingual
slope of the mesial marginal ridge.

The marginal ridge is confluent with lingual
cusp ridge & it has no developmental groove
on the distal marginal ridge.

The major portion of the distal surface of the
crown is smoothly convex, the spheroidal
form having an unbroken curved surface.

The distal contact area is broader than the
mesial
CROWN:
The center of the distal contact area is at a
point midway between buccal & lingual
crests of curvature and midway between
the cervical line and the tip of buccal cusp

The curvature of the cervical line distally is
same as that found mesially, but less
curvature is seen
ROOT:
Root surface on the distal side exhibits more
convexity than found mesially

A shallow developmental depression is
centered on the root.

The distal surface slopes from the buccal
margin toward the center of the
root lingually.

OCCLUSAL ASPECT
The usual outline of this tooth in occlusal aspect is roughly
diamond shaped & similar to incisal aspect of mandibular canines
The characteristics of mandibular first premolars from occlusal
aspect are :
The middle buccal lobe makes up the
major bulk of the tooth crown

Prominent buccal ridge

Mesiobuccal & distobuccal line angles
are prominent even though rounded

Contact areas are relatively broad,
(distal area being more broader)

The crown converges sharply to the
center of the lingual surface

The marginal ridges are well
developed.

The lingual cusp is small.

The occlusal surface shows a heavy
buccal triangular ridge & a small
lingual triangular ridge.
The Occlusal surface harbors two
depressions

These are called -
mesial & distal fossae

Shows a mesiolingual
developmental depression & groove

This creates smaller mesial contact
area which is in contact with
mandibular canine

The distal portion of the crown
shows a broader contact area in
contact with the second mandibular
premolar
The mesial fossa- linear in form,
sulcate and contains mesial
developmental groove; which
extends bucco-lingually

This becomes mesiolingual
developmental groove as it passes
over the mesiolingual surface

The distal fossa may contain a distal
developmental groove that is
crescent shaped

This distal fossa may harbor a
distal developmental pit with
accessory supplemental grooves
radiating from it

Because of the position of this
crown over the root, most of the
buccal surface may be seen from
the occlusal aspect, whereas very
little of the lingual surface is seen
MEASUREMENT OF MANDIBULAR
1
ST
PREMOLAR 2
ND
PREMOLAR

8.5 mm 8.0 mm


14.0 mm 14.5 mm


7.0 mm 7.0 mm


5.0 mm 5.0 mm


7.5 mm 8.0 mm


6.5 mm 7.0 mm


1.0 mm 1.0 mm


0.0 mm 0.0 mm
Cervico-incisal length
Of the crown

Length of the root

M-D diameter of the crown

M-D diameter of crown
at cervix

L-B diameter of crown

L-B diameter of crown
at cervix

Curvature of cervical line
- Mesial
Curvature of cervical line
- distal
MANDIBULAR SECOND PREMOLAR
It resembles the mandibular first premolar from the buccal
aspect only

This tooth assumes 2 common forms:

first form seen most often 3-cusp type, which appears
more angular from the occlusal aspect

second form 2-cusp type appears more rounded from
the occlusal aspect
BUCCAL ASPECT:
CROWN:
It presents a shorter buccal cusp than first
premolar

Both the contact areas (mesial & distal)
are broad

The contact areas appear to be higher
because of short buccal cusp
ROOT:
The root is broader mesiodistally than
that of first premolar

Root ends in an apex that is more blunt

In other respects, it is similar to first
premolar
LINGUAL ASPECT:
From the lingual aspect, the second premolar shows a lot of
variations from the first premolar
The variations are:

The lingual lobes are developed to a greater
degree, making the cusp or cusps longer

Less of the occlusal surface may be seen

Part of the buccal portion of the occlusal
surface is also seen since the lingual cusps are
not as long as the buccal cusps

In the 3-cusp type, the lingual development
brings about the greatest variation between the
two teeth.
There are a mesio-lingual & disto-lingual cusp,
the ML cusp being longer and larger. There is a
groove between them, extending a very short
distance on the lingual surface & usually
centered over the root

In the 2-cusp type, the single lingual cusp
development attains equal height with that of
the 3cusp type

The 2-cusp type has no groove, but it has a
developmental depression distolingually,
where the lingual cusp ridge joins the
distal marginal ridge

The lingual surface of the crown is smooth,
large, spheroidal, having a bulbous form above
the constricted cervical portion
ROOT:

The root is wide lingually, there is less
difference in dimension than was first
found on first premolar. This creates a less
convergence towards the lingual


MESIAL ASPECT
CROWN:
From the mesial aspect, 2nd premolar differs
from the 1st premolar as follows:

The crown & root are wider buccolingually

The buccal cusp is not centered over the root
trunk, and it is shorter

The lingual lobe development is greater

The marginal ridge is at right angles to the
long axis of the tooth

Less of the occlusal surface may be seen

Absence of mesiolingual developmental
groove on the crown portion
ROOT:

The root is longer, slightly convex on the
mesial surface

The apex of the root is usually more blunt on
the 2nd premolar


DISTAL ASPECT
This aspect of 2
nd
premolar is similar to the
mesial aspect, except that more of the occlusal
surface may be seen

The distal marginal ridge is at a lower level
than the mesial marginal ridge

The crowns of all posterior teeth are tipped
distally to the long axes of the roots

More of the occlusal surface may be seen
from the distal aspect than from the mesial
aspect, when the tooth speciman is held
vertically
OCCLUSAL ASPECT
The outline form of this tooth shows 2
forms, in which they show some
variation from the occlusal aspect

The two types are similar in that portion
which is buccal to the MB & DB cusp
ridges

The 3-cusp type appears square, lingual
to the buccal cusp ridges

The 2-cusp type appears round, lingual
to the buccal cusp ridges
The 3-cusp type or square type shows
3 cusps that are distinct-
buccal cusp largest
ML cusp - second largest
DL cusp - smallest

Each cusp has well-formed triangular
ridges, separated by deep developmental
grooves

These grooves converge in a central pit &
form a Y on the occlusal surface

The central pit is located midway between
buccal cusp ridge & lingual margin of
occlusal surface & slightly distal to the
central point between mesial & distal
marginal ridges
Starting at the central pit, the mesial
developmental groove travels in a MB
direction & ends in a mesial triangular
fossa, just distal to the mesial marginal
ridge

The distal developmental groove travels
in a DB direction, shorter than mesial
groove & ends in the distal triangular
fossa, mesial to the distal marginal ridge

The lingual developmental groove extends
lingually between the two lingual cusps &
ends on the lingual surface of the crown
just below the convergence of the lingual
lingual cusp ridges
ML cusp is wider mesio-distaly than DL
cusp. This places the lingual
developmental groove distal to the
centre of the crown

The central developmental groove travels
in MD direction. This is straight, more
often crescent-shaped
The occlusal characteristics of the 2-cusp type are:



1. Outline of the crown is rounded lingual to the buccal cusp
ridges

2. There is some lingual convergence of mesial & distal sides

3. ML & DL line angles are rounded

4. One well developed lingual cusp directly opposite to the buccal
cusp in a lingual direction