Difference Between Tooth and Teeth

Main Difference – Tooth vs Teeth

Although many people tend to use the two words tooth and teeth interchangeably, there is a distinct difference between tooth and teeth. Tooth is a hard, bony enamel-coated structure situated in the jaws of most vertebrates, used for biting and chewing. Teeth is the plural form of teeth. This is the main difference between tooth and teeth.

Tooth vs Teeth – Meaning and Usage

Tooth is a small and whitish structure found in the mouth of vertebrates. This structure helps us in chewing and biting food. Teeth is the plural form of tooth. Teeth is an irregular plural form. An adult human has 32 teeth. But whenever we are referring to individual structures, we use the word tooth. For example,

Did you brush your teeth?

He lost two teeth in the fight.

I have a toothache.

The dentist advised me to extract the decayed tooth.

He clenched his teeth.

He explained the tooth extraction process to me.

She always smiled without showing her teeth.

I brush my teeth every day

We often use the word teeth than tooth since we always refer to teeth collectively. It is only rarely that we refer to a single tooth. For example, if we are at the dentist’s and talking about pain in one of the teeth, we would use tooth instead of teeth. And the dentist would also use the word tooth in order to be more specific.

There are also some set of expressions that use either teeth or tooth. You cannot use teeth and tooth interchangeably in the following words and phrases.

Toothache

Toothpick

Fight tooth and nail

Sink his teeth into

Long in the tooth

Sweet tooth

Tooth whitening

Tooth extraction

The dentist extracted his wisdom tooth.

Difference Between Tooth and Teeth

Definition 

Tooth is a small and whitish structure found in the mouth of vertebrates, which helps in chewing and biting.

Teeth is the plural form of tooth.

Number

Tooth is the singular form.

Teeth is the plural form.

Usage

Tooth is less commonly used.

Teeth is more commonly used.

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