An incisor is one of the sharp, flat teeth at the front of your mouth. You have eight incisors total: four on top and four on bottom, right in the center where your smile shows.

These teeth have a special job: cutting and biting food. When you bite into an apple or tear off a piece of pizza, your incisors do most of the work. Their thin, blade-like edges are perfect for this task.

Your incisors are different from your other teeth. The flat molars in the back of your mouth grind food, while the pointed canines next to your incisors help tear tougher foods. But incisors are your primary cutting tools.

Many animals have incisors too, and they reveal a lot about what the animal eats. Beavers have huge, powerful incisors that never stop growing, perfect for gnawing through tree trunks. Rabbits have similar ever-growing incisors for eating tough plant material. Herbivores often have broad incisors for cropping grass, while carnivores typically have smaller ones since their canine teeth do most of the work.