A wealth of information has recently become available on the molecular signals that are required to form and pattern the dentition in the mouse, shedding light on how important decisions about tooth shape, tooth number and cusp (cone-shaped prominence) number are generated. This information, which has been gleaned principally from knockout mice and manipulation of organ cultures, has been used to identify the genes and developmental processes that underlie the many human disorders in which tooth development is defective. Mouse models of several of these syndromes have also indicated ways in which such conditions could be treated.