Teeth chart: find any tooth by its number

A teeth chart divides your mouth into four quadrants: upper right, upper left, lower left and lower right. Right and left are always described from your point of view as the patient, not from the point of view of the dentist facing you. That is why a chart can look back to front when you first see it. Within each quadrant, teeth are counted from the middle of your mouth outwards, starting with the front tooth next to the midline and ending with the back molar.

In every adult quadrant the order is the same. Position 1 is the central incisor, 2 the lateral incisor and 3 the canine. Positions 4 and 5 are the first and second premolars. Positions 6, 7 and 8 are the first, second and third molars, and the third molar is the wisdom tooth. Different numbering systems label these positions in different ways, but they all describe the same 32 permanent teeth and 20 baby teeth.

• 1 = central incisor
• 2 = lateral incisor
• 3 = canine
• 4 = first premolar, 5 = second premolar
• 6 = first molar, 7 = second molar
• 8 = third molar (wisdom tooth)

Many dentists in the UK use Palmer notation, often written in a simple form with letters. Each quadrant gets a short code: UR for upper right, UL for upper left, LR for lower right and LL for lower left. The permanent teeth in each quadrant are numbered 1 to 8, starting at the midline and working backwards. So UL1 is your top front incisor on the left, and UR6 is your upper right first molar. Our chart uses this style for the numbers shown on each tooth.

Baby teeth use the same quadrants, but letters A to E instead of numbers. A is the central incisor, B the lateral incisor, C the canine, and D and E are the first and second baby molars. So URE is the upper right second baby molar. Children have no premolars in their baby teeth. If you see a letter on your child's dental notes, switch the chart to "Baby teeth" and type the code to find the tooth.

The FDI World Dental Federation system, also published as the ISO 3950 standard, gives every tooth a two-digit number. The first digit is the quadrant and the second is the position. Adult quadrants are 1 (upper right), 2 (upper left), 3 (lower left) and 4 (lower right). So 16 is the upper right first molar and 36 the lower left first molar. Baby teeth use quadrants 5 to 8, so 55 is the upper right second baby molar. NHS Scotland claim forms record tooth-specific treatment in FDI notation.

The Universal system is used mainly in the United States, where the American Dental Association adopted it. It numbers the adult teeth 1 to 32, starting with the upper right third molar as 1, running across to the upper left third molar as 16, then down to the lower left third molar as 17 and round to the lower right third molar as 32. Baby teeth are lettered A to T in the same direction. So UR6 in Palmer, 16 in FDI and 3 in Universal are all the same tooth.

Tooth numbers appear on treatment plans, X-ray reports, referral letters and invoices. If you are comparing a UK quote with a quote from a clinic abroad, the two plans may use different systems: a UK plan might list UR6, while another lists 16. Use the chart to translate both into the same tooth, then check that the plans really cover the same teeth and the same work. A difference in numbering can hide a difference in the treatment itself.

The chart only explains numbering. It does not tell you whether a tooth needs treatment or which treatment is right. If a number on your plan is unclear, or two plans seem to describe different teeth, ask your dentist to go through it with you. Writing the tooth numbers down before your appointment helps you ask precise questions and avoids mix-ups between left and right. You can also press "Print" and mark the teeth you want to ask about on the paper chart.