Deciduous teeth Deciduous teeth Deciduous teeth, commonly known as milk teeth, baby teeth and temporary teeth, are the first set of teeth in the growth development of humans and other diphyodont mammals. They develop during the embryonic stage of development and erupt—that is, they become visible in the mouth—during infancy. They are usually lost and replaced by permanent teeth, but in the absence of permanent replacements, they can remain functional for many years. Primary teeth start to form during the embryo phase of human life. The development of primary teeth starts at the sixth week of tooth development as the dental lamina.
Dentition and so the sample of teeth available to archaeologists is much more extensive and therefore more representative. Dentition is particularly useful in tracking ancient populations' movements, because there are differences in the shapes of incisors, the number of grooves on molars, presence/absence of wisdom teeth, and extra cusps on particular teeth. These differences can not only be associated with different populations across space, but also change over time so that the study of the characteristics of teeth could say which population one is dealing with, and at what point in that population's history they are. A dinosaur's dentition included all