Editing Dentition (section)

==Dinosaurs==
A dinosaur's dentition included all the teeth in its jawbones, which consist of the [[dentary]], [[maxilla]]ry, and in some cases the [[premaxilla]]ry bones. The maxilla is the main bone of the upper jaw. The premaxilla is a smaller bone forming the anterior of the animal's upper jaw. The dentary is the main bone that forms the lower jaw (mandible). The predentary is a smaller bone that forms the anterior end of the lower jaw in ornithischian dinosaurs; it is always edentulous and supported a horny beak.

Unlike modern lizards, [[dinosaur]] teeth grew individually in the sockets of the jawbones, which are known as the [[Dental alveolus|dental alveoli]]. This [[thecodont]] dentition is also present in [[crocodilian]]s and [[mammal]]s, but is not found among the non-[[archosaur]] reptiles, which instead have [[acrodont]] or [[pleurodont]] dentition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/bones/teeth/tooth_implantation.html|access-date=30 November 2022|website=Palaeos: Life through Deep Time|title=Palaeos Vertebrates > Bones > Teeth: Tooth Implantation}}</ref> Teeth that were lost were replaced by teeth below the roots in each tooth socket. Occlusion refers to the closing of the dinosaur's mouth, where the teeth from the upper and lower parts of the jaw meet. If the occlusion causes teeth from the maxillary or premaxillary bones to cover the teeth of the dentary and predentary, the dinosaur is said to have an overbite, the most common condition in this group. The opposite condition is considered to be an underbite, which is rare in [[theropod]] dinosaurs.

The majority of dinosaurs had teeth that were similarly shaped throughout their jaws but varied in size. Dinosaur tooth shapes included cylindrical, peg-like, teardrop-shaped, leaf-like, diamond-shaped and blade-like. A dinosaur that has a variety of tooth shapes is said to have heterodont dentition. An example of this are dinosaurs of the group [[Heterodontosauridae]] and the enigmatic early dinosaur, ''[[Eoraptor]]''. While most dinosaurs had a single row of teeth on each side of their jaws, others had dental batteries where teeth in the cheek region were fused together to form compound teeth. Individually these teeth were not suitable for grinding food, but when joined together with other teeth they would form a large surface area for the mechanical digestion of tough plant materials. This type of dental strategy is observed in ornithopod and ceratopsian dinosaurs as well as the duck-billed [[hadrosaurs]], which had more than one hundred teeth in each [[dental battery]]. The teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs, called ziphodont, were typically blade-like or cone-shaped, curved, with serrated edges. This dentition was adapted for grasping and cutting through flesh. In some cases, as observed in the railroad-spike-sized teeth of ''[[Tyrannosaurus rex]]'', the teeth were designed to puncture and crush bone. Some dinosaurs had procumbent teeth, which projected forward in the mouth.<ref>Martin, A. J. (2006). ''Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs''. Second Edition. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing. 560 pp. {{ISBN|1-4051-3413-5}}.</ref>