Dental Arches

I – Maxillary dental arch

II – Mandibular Dental Arch

Dental Arches: The bones, soft tissue aggregates in our oral cavity which form an arc like form to support the teeth of our oral cavity. 

Mouth is divided into 2 Arches Mandibular & Maxillary arches.

Maxillary dental arch: The bigger arch of the 2 arches, it bears 16 teeth and is comparatively larger than the mandibular arch, it lies just below the nasal cavity, it forms the base of the nasal cavity with its hard palate which is a junction between the alveolar ridges which are the supporting structures for teeth, in this arch we cannot see any movement as it is an integral part of the skull.

Mandibular Dental Arch:The lower arch is also known as the mandibular arch it is the smaller of the two and so the teeth are arranged narrower together than that of the maxillary arch, this arch does not have the extension between the alveolar ridges which support, in place of the palate there lies the tongue so the mandibular arch is a ‘U’ shaped structure clinging on to the skull by a joint(TMJ) which attaches it to the skull, with the help of this joint it shows movements and it also helps in the chewing movements