The crown helps you bite and chew food, and also helps you to speak properly and to give you a nice bright smile.

The enamel is the outer layer of the crown. It is the hardest substance in the body, even harder than bone, so it can protect the more sensitive inside parts of the tooth and last through a lifetime of chewing.

The dentine lies between the enamel or cementum and the pulp of the tooth. It supports the crown of the tooth and helps to protect the pulp.

The pulp is at the centre of the tooth and it is what keeps the tooth alive. It contains blood vessels and nerves which enter the tooth from a hole at the bottom of the tooth's root.

The blood vessels supply nutrients to the tooth.

The nerves helps you feel hot and cold things in your mouth and lets you know if something is wrong with your tooth.

The root can be seen as the 'anchor' of the tooth, as it helps the tooth stay in place. It is surrounded by the gum, which acts as a protective seal between the root and the surrounding bone. The surrounding bone helps to support and stabilise the tooth, by acting like a frame which the tooth sits within. The cementum is the outer tissue layer covering the root of the tooth and it helps the root attach to the gum and surrounding bone.