Understanding Dental Jargon: How Do Dentists Assign Numbers to Teeth?

When you sit in your dentist's office chair, do you ever feel confused? Do you hear the dentist and staff talk, but don't understand what they're saying? Dental terminology is almost your own language, with many unique terms and numbers released by professionals. You want to understand what they say about your teeth, right? Here's a guide to understanding dental jargon, especially what the numbers discussed mean. When you're sitting in the dentist's chair, the last thing you expect is to hear the word quadrant. When dental staff use this term, they don't talk about equations or formulas.

It's an expression about the parts of the mouth.

Dentists

divide the inside of the mouth into four sections or quadrants. The upper parts of the mouth are the first two quadrants, while the lower parts are the third and fourth. Therefore, the upper right of the inside of the mouth is quadrant one (that is the right side), while the upper left is quadrant two.

The background is a little more confusing. While the upper part numbers the right side first, it is the opposite for the lower part.The lower left is quadrant three and the lower right is quadrant four. From the dentist's perspective, they look up and down inside your mouth. It is easier to list quadrants so that the section under quadrant two is quadrant three.

The lower teeth are then numbered from left to right from 17 to 32.This numbering system allows all 32 teeth to be present, including wisdom teeth.Gum disease is one of the most common problems dentists see. They have developed abbreviated terminology to define gum health. One of the measures they will use to measure the gums is the space between the gum pocket and the nearby tooth. Each of your teeth will receive a number for its space between the gums.

Dentists measure this distance in millimeters.As a patient, you'll want to hear a smaller number. This means that you have a smaller space between the tooth and the gum, a sign that your mouth is healthy. A higher number indicates that you have gum problems, such as plaque and tartar buildup. When your distance indicates that your gums are 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter, what they really say is that you have healthy gums.It's a sign that you brush and floss regularly, usually taking great care of your teeth.

Patients with this type of space between their teeth and gums are likely to have spent some time between dental cleanings. Inflammation occurs naturally in such situations. Your dentist may even warn you that you are at the first signs of periodontal disease or possible bone loss.You will probably have a checkup to see if your gums bleed easily. A gum number of five millimeters or more is a problem.

Your dentist will almost certainly tell you to get a deep clean. The hope is that cleaning will remove buildup between the tooth and the gum.Other possible causes include tooth breakage or gum loss. In extreme situations, a person with this level of buildup will need corrective surgery, although the dentist will generally prefer to try minor treatments first.The first thing to keep in mind is that dentists use a numbering system. So the right upper teeth start with the number “1” (i.e., 11-17 and 21-27 on dental chart).

However, this numbering system has a second purpose: it also identifies what type of tooth is being discussed. With this information, dentists can quickly note which teeth have problems that need correction. As an example, a chip in the second molar in quadrant four would be shown as tooth 47 on the graph. Wisdom teeth are eighth tooth in each quadrant, so they are numbers 18, 28, 38 and 48 respectively.

Very often in United Kingdom, Palmer notation method is used which is named after Dr Corydon Palmer from Ohio who used simple system to represent quadrant in mouth and whether it's up down left or right and it's always indicated by PATIENTS on left and right never by person sitting in front of patient and looking. Dentists have developed universal numbering system which gives tooth numbers to each tooth in mouth although system called “universal” numbering system used in United States specific only to this country different numbering systems used in different parts of world other countries such as United States use Universal System or UK where dentists use Palmer Notation Method. Dealers %26 LeCroy are dentists in Hoover Alabama with reputation for providing best service in area name primary teeth begins with back right upper quadrant where second right molar assigned name A continues letter J second left molar left posterior side dental arch learning knowing tooth labeling important part understanding dental jargon.