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 23 molars DHJanzen100896.jpg high resolution
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| The beaver molars, used to finely mill the bits of tree bark sliced off by the incisors, are set far back from the incisors. The chewing motion is from side to side (as well as up and down crushing), and to a lesser degree, from front to back. The hard enamel layers fold through the tooth and grind down more slowly than the whiter softer dentine of the tooth, producing a series of ridges in the molar row, almost like a file. The molars, in contrast to the incisors, are not evergrowing (or if they are, it is very, very slowly) and the molars gradually grind down. | ||
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