Definitions for "Dental formula"
Keywords:  premolar, incisor, canine, molar, jaw
Four digits representing in order the number of a mammal's incisors, canines, premolars, and molars on one side of one jaw. If the upper and lower teeth differ, the upper jaw's formula precedes the lower, separated by a slash.
(plural, formulae) — A brief method for expressing the number and kind of teeth of mammals. The abbreviations I (incisor), C (canine), P or Pm (premolar), and M (molar) indicate the kinds in the permanent dentition. The number of teeth in each jaw is written like a fraction; the figure in front of the diagonal line showing the number in the upper jaw and that after, the number in the lower jaw. The dental formula of an adult coyote is I 3/3, C 1/1, Pm 4/4, M 2/3 X 2 = 42.
A convenient way of designating the number and arrangement of mammalian teeth; for example: I 3/3 C 1/1 P4/4 M 3/3 = 44 the ancestral complement of eutherian teeth. The letters indicate incisors, canines, premolars in upper and lower jaw in one side of the skull. The number after the equal sign indicates the full complement of teeth in both sides of the skull.