Name and numbering of teeth

Name of the tooth (Incisor): Incisors are sharp front teeth (four on the top and four on the bottom) that are used to cut food and have a single root and a relatively smooth edge.

Name of tooth (canine): Canine teeth are located next to incisors and are used to hold and tear food, and canine teeth are often pointed and have a longer root than other teeth.

Name of the tooth (Premolar): The premolar teeth, which are located after the canine teeth, are used to crush and grind food into smaller pieces and have two pointed cusps on the biting surface and one or two roots, which make them effective for chewing.

Name of the tooth (Molar): Molars are the largest and strongest teeth located at the back of the mouth. They are mainly used for crushing food during chewing and have two to three roots with a large, flat chewing surface.

Wisdom teeth (third molars): Wisdom teeth are the last teeth that usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25. Wisdom teeth often cause problems when they don't have enough space to erupt properly, which can cause pain, disorganization, and other dental problems.

Types of teeth

Milk teeth start growing from six months of age, and by the age of 3, their number reaches twenty.

Permanent teeth From the age of 5, substitutes grow instead of milk teeth and remain until the end of life, and normally we should have 32 permanent teeth.

Numbering of teeth

We have two upper and lower jaws. In order to number the teeth, we have to divide each jaw into two parts in the middle. Each half jaw is called a quadrant. It should be noted that during jaw division in adults, numbers 1 to 4 are used for quadrants (or half jaws). And numbers 5 to 8 are used for children.

Numbering of teeth by universal or national method The Universal Numbering System is the most common method for naming teeth in America. In this method, permanent teeth are given a number from 1 to 32 and baby teeth are given a number from 1 to 20. The numbering also starts from quadrant 1 (from the right side of the upper jaw and from the wisdom tooth or the third molar) and the last tooth that gets number 32 is the wisdom tooth of the lower jaw on the right side.

Baby teeth are named using numbers 1 to 20 in the same order as mentioned for permanent teeth. For baby teeth, English alphabets are also used to name the teeth. In this way, the letter A is placed for the second molar on the right side of the upper jaw and the other letters of the English alphabet are placed on the teeth in a clockwise manner.

Numbering of teeth according to the Palmer method In this method, numbers 1 to 8 are given to the permanent teeth in each quadrant or each half jaw. The first incisor tooth at the beginning of each quadrant is number 1 and the wisdom tooth (third molar number 8). With this system, there are 4 teeth of the same number in the mouth. Therefore, the characters (└┘ ┌┐) are used so that the teeth are not confused and identified faster. Quadrant 1 is marked with the character ┘, quadrant 2 with └, quadrant 3 with ┌, quadrant 4 with ┐.

In Palmer's nomenclature, deciduous teeth with the letters A to E are used for each quadrant. In this way, the first incisor tooth in each quadrant is A and the last tooth is E.

Numbering of teeth by FDI method This numbering method is usually used in European countries and Canada. In a completely different way, in this method, 2 numbers are used to name the teeth. The first number is used to specify the half jaw and the second number is similar to the Palmer system, numbers 1 to 8 are used. The number of each quadrant is between 1 to 4 for permanent teeth and 5 to 8 for deciduous teeth. Palmer's numbering starts from the first tooth in front of each half jaw (central tooth) and ends at the last tooth. For example, the first tooth of the upper half of the right side is 18. And the last tooth in the lower half of the right jaw is 48. Note: In this teeth numbering system: 00s to specify the entire mouth Number 01 for the entire upper jaw Number 02 for the entire lower jaw