Q: The cusp of Carabelli is the fifth cusp present on which tooth?
(A). Mandibular central incisor
(B). Maxillary canine
(C). Mandibular first molar
(D). Maxillary first molar
The cusp of Carabelli is a small additional cusp at the mesiopalatal line angle of a maxillary first molar. But not everyone has this special cusp! You can think of it as an “additional” accessory that an individual may or may not have. This cusp can present in a variety of forms – it can be small, but in some cases, Carabelli’s cusp may rival the main cusps in size.
Answer: (D). Maxillary first molar
Extra! Why is this called “Carabelli”? Because this additional cusp was first described in 1842 by Georg Carabelli (Carabelli György), the Hungarian court dentist of the Austrian Emperor Franz.
Learn more for the dental hygiene boards
Now, the key to this StudentRDH Vitamin review for the dental hygiene boards today is the location of the fifth cusp. Note that it is present on the maxillary (not mandibular) the first molar. How are you doing to remember this? Because at the day of your dental hygiene national boards, the brain may panic and accidentally pull out the incorrect information. In order to memorize anything better, let’s use StudentRDH’s famous Wake-Up Memory Technique (WUMT).
Wake Up Memory Technique (WMT) by StudentRDH
Memory tip: see the word Carabelli.
- Find something you recognize. For me, I immediately see the word “belli” -> belly (as in yummy in my belly).
- Connect this new finding with something you already know. In this case, since we are trying to remember that the cusp is on the maxillary arch, which is the upper arch, I think of the belly being in the “upper” part of the body.
I know, all of this is a stretch, but if you are going to remember the 20+ books you had to read for dental hygiene school, you better come up with some tricks. The tricks do NOT have to be pretty, they just have to do the job to stay in your brain.
Another summary of the teeth and their MOST important characteristics can be found under the chapter of Dental Anatomy at StudentRDH.com. See the small topic of “Characteristics of each tooth.” We trimmed all the information you can find on your Dental hygiene boards review textbooks such as Mosby or Saunders, and kept ONLY what is most critical. Because you don’t have #forever to study. You will have to register for the FULL package for the national boards, but I promise you that I will be worth it.
Enough about StudentRDH. I hope that your day a little better because now know more about the cusp of Carabelli and its location. Share the information, because the goal is for YOU and YOUR FRIENDS to all pass the NBDHE/NDHCE. Have another #Winning day.
Related blog on Wake Up Memory Technique: How to memorize hypertension drug suffix easily
(Disclaimer: StudentRDH is NOT affiliated with the NBDHE, NDHCE, CSCE, CDCA, WREB.)
