{"id":145,"date":"2019-10-10T15:46:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T15:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harrowdentalpractice.co.uk\/news\/?p=145"},"modified":"2019-10-10T15:50:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T15:50:30","slug":"teeth-names-and-the-tooth-numbering-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harrowdentalpractice.co.uk\/news\/teeth-names-and-the-tooth-numbering-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Teeth Names and the Tooth Numbering System"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever wondered what your dentist was talking about when they are describing your teeth to the nurse? When they say that tooth “44” as a filling\u2026 Which tooth is this?<\/p>\n

One of the top dental searches on Google is for teeth names<\/strong> and also for the numbering system<\/strong> used to classify each of the human teeth. There is also a difference between the standard numbering systems in the UK and the international system so will go through both of these in this article.<\/p>\n

There are quite a few different ways of using a notational system, including the international standard or universal numbering system which is widely used internationally. Let’s start by looking at the teeth names first\u2026<\/p>\n

The Names for Adult Teeth<\/h2>\n

Starting at the tooth in the front and working backwards the tooth names are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Central.<\/li>\n
  2. Lateral.<\/li>\n
  3. Canine.<\/li>\n
  4. 1st premolar.<\/li>\n
  5. 2nd premolar.<\/li>\n
  6. 1st molar.<\/li>\n
  7. 2nd molar.<\/li>\n
  8. 3rd molar.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is the same on the left and right side making 16 teeth on the top, it is also reflected on the bottom with another 16 teeth making 32 teeth in total.<\/p>\n

    \"tooth<\/p>\n

    Adult tooth numbering system<\/h2>\n

    Very often in the UK the Palmer notation method is used, this was named after Dr Corydon Palmer<\/a> a dentist from Ohio. It uses a simple system to represent the quadrant in the mouth and whether it is up, lower, left or right. It is always indicated by the PATIENTS left and right, never the person sitting opposite the patient and viewing.<\/p>\n

    \"Palmer<\/p>\n

    So if a dentist wanted to talk about the permanent dentition 1st premolar on the right-hand side (remember it’s always the patient’s right) you would hear them talk about upper right 4, sometimes abbreviated to UR4, this would then have the notation:<\/p>\n

    \"upper<\/p>\n

    \u2026 They would be talking about this tooth\u2026<\/p>\n

    \"1st<\/p>\n

    The last tooth in the mouth, the 3rd molar, numbered 8 is what is otherwise known as the wisdom teeth. These can be problematic as there is often not enough room in the mouth meaning they can be impacted and push against the other teeth.<\/p>\n

    International Standards Organisation<\/h2>\n

    In addition to both the methods above there is also the ISO system<\/a> which is used widely by dentists internationally. It uses a 2 digit system, the 1st digit indicates the quadrant as follows:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. upper right<\/li>\n
    2. upper left<\/li>\n
    3. lower left<\/li>\n
    4. lower right<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In the ISO system, the 2nd number indicates which tooth, start counting from the front tooth and work backwards.<\/p>\n

      \"international<\/p>\n

      The uses of different teeth<\/h2>\n

      There are different types of teeth in the mouth or groups of teeth, they all have specific uses:<\/p>\n