Molar (tooth) and a neck. The occlusal surface is rough and mostly flat, adapted for crushing and grinding plant material. The body is covered with cementum both above and below the gingival line, below which is a layer of enamel covering the entire length of the body. The cementum and the enamel invaginate into the thick layer of dentin. The opposite condition to hypsodont is called brachydont or brachyodont (from "brachys", "short"). It is a type of dentition characterized by low-crowned teeth. Human teeth are brachydont. A brachydont tooth has a crown above the gingival line and a neck just below it,
Human tooth development through cementum. NGF-R is present in the condensing ectomesenchymal cells of the dental papilla in the early cap stage tooth germ and plays multiple roles during morphogenetic and cytodifferentiation events in the tooth. There is a relationship between tooth agenesis and absence of the peripheral trigeminal nerve (see Hypodontia). All stages (bud, cap, bell, crown), growth and morphogenesis of the teeth are regulated by a protein called sonic hedgehog. Various phenotypic inputs modulate the size of the teeth. Parathyroid hormone is required for tooth eruption. The following tables present the development timeline of human teeth. Times for the initial calcification