Dentists, the United States
government, law enforcement agencies, and insurance companies use a
universal, international numbering system to identify teeth. The
system is based on an observer looking directly at the patient, as
opposed to looking in the mirror.
As you look at another person (or a
photograph of yourself), tooth # 1 is the patient's upper right 3rd
molar, or wisdom tooth. The upper teeth are then numbered from
the patient's right to left, until you get to Tooth # 16, the upper
left 3rd molar (wisdom tooth). If it helps, pretend that you are
looking at the person (or a photograph of yourself) while yawning.
Now, you would think that the lower
teeth would also be numbered from right to left, too. However,
and this has never made sense to me, the tooth numbering system
reverses for the lower teeth! Tooth # 17 is the lower LEFT 3rd
molar (wisdom tooth), and the last tooth, # 32, is the lower RIGHT 3rd
molar (wisdom tooth). By the way, this system was developed by
the United States Government.
So, when your dentist presents you
with a proposal for your treatment, or when you are trying to make
sense of an insurance document, use this chart to help figure it out!
If you have any questions about this, just email me:
Dr. Hart's Email
