Anatomy Dental Of The Mandibular Canine
The labial surface is smooth and convex. The labial ridge is not as pronounced as on the maxillary canines. The crown appears long and narrow compared with the crown of the maxillary canine. The mesial and distal cusp ridges form a more obtuse angle (120˚) than the maxillary canine. The apical end of the root is more often straight than curving toward the mesial or distal sides. Therefore, on mandibular canines, the root curvature should not be used to distinguish rights and lefts. Roots are shorter than the roots of upper canines. The labiolingual dimension of the crown is noticeably larger than the mesiodistal dimension. This oblong faciolingual outline is characteristic for mandibular canines. The position of the distoincisal angle is lingual to the position of the cusp tip. This displacement gives the incisal part of the crown a slight distolingual twist like the mandibular lateral incisor.
The functional attrition of the incisal edges of canines is an important mark for identification. Due to the contacts between upper and lower canines in function, their incisal edges are subjected to wear in a specific pattern - maxillary canines demonstrate wear on the lingual side, and the mandibular canines - on the facial side of the incisal edge.