Why You Need to Know Your Dental Tooth Number Chart

Dental tooth number charts can seem mysterious and complicated, but they’re actually quite simple. In fact, if you want to feel more prepared when visiting the dentist, it’s crucial that you learn how to read your dental tooth number chart right away, and keep that knowledge fresh in your mind at all times. But first, let’s break down what exactly dental teeth are and why they’re numbered the way they are.

All About Teeth

Teeth are numbered for easy identification and a patient’s medical chart. Invisalign doctor login The reason for numbering teeth, dental records, and much more information about your teeth can be found on WebMD’s website. Dentists will also use these numbers when they take x-rays or make impressions of your teeth. According to WebMD, The permanent tooth in front is No. 1, with its adult replacement tooth being No. 2; then, they go back into childhood (childhood crown 1=adult permanent No. 3, etc.). Next come baby teeth: First molar = 4; second molar = 5; first premolar = 6; second premolar = 7; first canine = 8; second canine = 9. Then another set of baby teeth: Third molar (wisdom tooth) 10, 11, 12…and so on until you get to your wisdom teeth at age 21.

The Types of Teeth

Though many people use teeth as a plural, it is actually only singular. In other words, you have one tooth (singular) and 32 teeth (plural). The truth is that all those teeth are technically called dentition. But dentitions come in different shapes and sizes—though a dentist will tell you there are only four basic types of teeth: Incisors, canines, premolars and molars. And as for numbering them?

It really depends on what part of your mouth we’re talking about. If we’re focusing on just your upper teeth, they start with number 1 at your front left corner and end with number 16 at your back right corner. If focusing on just your lower teeth, they start with number 1 at front left corner and end with number 8 at back right corner. If we include both sets of teeth together, then you get numbers 1 through 32! Got it? Good! Now go brush… or floss… or whatever else it is you do to keep healthy smile looking good!

What Is a Premolar?

Each of these has a number attached to it, with zero being reserved for your two canine teeth. Since there are so many different types of teeth in a person’s mouth, how do we keep track of them all? It can get complicated when you’re looking at someone’s smile from above and trying to figure out which tooth is which. The easiest way to do it is by using what’s called a tooth numbering system. This helps dentists know exactly where each tooth is located, as well as help patients remember their dental health history. Knowing where each tooth is located will also make it easier for you to understand how invisalign doctor login works.

So, how are the teeth in your mouth numbered?

The numbering system is pretty much universal. There are four arches (upper, lower, left and right) that connect at what’s called a midline. Each arch consists of two upper and two lower teeth. Take your top teeth: there are four pairs of incisors—the two in front are called central incisors; then there are lateral (side) incisors. That gives you eight teeth in your top arch (remember, each arch is made up of two uppers and two lowers). Then you have six premolars and six molars for a total of 28 teeth on top.

The back row is done in basically the same way with 12 premolars and 12 molars for a total of 24. No wonder it’s easy to get confused! To make things even more complicated, our teeth aren’t all evenly spaced out like they would be if we were playing cards. We tend to space them out so that when we bite down, our jaws line up evenly. This means some rows will be longer than others. For example, if you put an imaginary line between your first and second molar on both sides of your mouth (and assuming you’re not missing any), those two lines should be about equal length in most people’s mouths. But if you do that between your second and third molars or between your fourth premolar and first molar, they’ll probably be different lengths because they’re farther apart from one another than they would be otherwise.

What Does It Mean if They Are Outlined In White on X-rays?

It’s important to know your dental tooth number chart because it helps your dentist put together a treatment plan. If a tooth is outlined in white on an x-ray, it means there is decay in that area and may need a filling or root canal. For example, teeth No. 1 through 8 are known as permanent teeth (or adult teeth), while teeth Nos. 9 through 32 are known as baby or deciduous teeth (although they aren’t real teeth until they come in). The average number of permanent adult teeth is 32—that is, there should be 12 per quadrant; however, you can lose one or more during development and sometimes it happens with surgery or from trauma. When it comes to baby teeth, you have 20 primary teeth and 20 secondary teeth.

Baby teeth usually fall out between ages 6 and 13, although some people retain them into their late teens or early twenties. Some people also have third molars (wisdom teeth) that can appear after age 18 but before age 25. Sometimes wisdom teeth don’t grow in at all, which causes pain when chewing food if left untreated. This can lead to infection if not removed surgically by a dentist. If wisdom teeth do grow in properly, then they will erupt around age 17 for females and age 19 for males.

Summary

Invisalign® is a system of clear aligners that are used by dentists around the world. Each invisalign doctor login patient has their own custom tooth number chart that helps with proper tooth movement during treatment. Dr. Ramin did his residency in orthodontics at some of America’s most prestigious universities and graduated from UCLA School of Dentistry with honors, he continues to perfect his craft as one of New York City’s top orthodontic experts . Dr. Ramin will personally walk you through each phase of your treatment, explaining all options available and why he recommends one over another for your personal situation. If you have any questions about dental teeth numbering systems or how to choose an orthodontist NYC, contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!

The post was published on October 10th 2017 and within 24 hours had garnered 8+ comments/replies (mostly negative) regarding my use of numbered lists. The comments were deleted by myself and I received no further feedback on it after that point (which is fine). However, I feel it’s necessary to go into more detail here so people can understand what happened:

This was intended as a joke but I guess it fell flat with some people who didn’t find it funny or appropriate.