No, they're not elephants. And technically, they're not even shrews. But it's not hard to see how elephant shrews got their name. This insectivorous African animal uses that glorious and elongated nose to hunt down spiders, worms, and insects, and then suck them up like an anteater does.
Tooth number 1 is the tooth farthest back on the right side of your mouth in the upper (maxillary) jaw. Numbering continues along your upper teeth toward the front and across to the tooth farthest back on the top left side (which is number 16). The numbers continue by dropping down to the lower (mandibular) jaw. Number 17 is the tooth farthest back on the left side of your mouth on the bottom. Numbering continues again toward the front and across to the tooth farthest back on the bottom right side of your mouth (which is number 32). In this system, the teeth that should be there are numbered.
A dead tooth is a tooth that does not have a nerve inside it. The nerve has died. Normally teeth DO have a nerve inside them. It's what tells you if your coffee is hot or your ice cream is cold! I usually tell my patients that a tooth is a bit like a pencil. The nerve inside the tooth is like the pencil lead, running down the inside of the tooth.