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It wouldn’t have occurred to you that teeth are assigned numbers in the field of dentistry. This is primarily to recognize and refer to a particular tooth. There have been 20 different numbering systems in use over the years.
There are generally two systems in use throughout the world. One is the Universal Numbering System which is used primarily by most dentists in the US. The other method is the FDI World Dental Federation notation. This is used by dentists throughout the world to refer to a particular tooth.
The most popular tooth numbering method in the US is the Universal Numbering system. As per this system, the adult teeth are numbered in the following way. Tooth number one is assigned to the tooth farthest back in the upper maxillary jaw on the right side. The numbering process continues that way to the front of the mouth and moves back to the last teeth in the upper jaw on the left side. After that, the numbering continues from the last teeth to the farthest back of the lower left side jaw.
Along the teeth, the numbering continues to the front and back to the last teeth on the right side of the lower mandibular jaw. No tooth is missed in numbering in this process. However, if you don’t have wisdom teeth, the first tooth would be numbered starting from 2 instead of 1. As per this system the 20 primary teeth of children are numbered from 1d, 2d and so on. This numbering system is used by insurance companies.
Another method of tooth numbering is the Palmer Notation Method. In this method, the human mouth is divided into four different parts called quadrants. A unique symbol is used to number a particular tooth. The four quadrants are identified as letters. Children's teeth are numbered in the same way.
According to certain schools of thought in the US, the FDI two digit system that is in use throughout the world should be used in the US and should replace the Universal System as it is a better system.
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