TOOTH NOTATION SYSTEMS

Do you know that dentists not only face the challenge of finding diseases in teeth, but also have difficulties telling other people in which tooth these diseases are located? One of the problems dentists have been experiencing is that there is no clear and precise communication between dentists. If countries do not cooperate accurately, this circumstance may lead countries to create their own systems since there is no mutually agreed upon system. This would make treatment processes less efficient and cause a decline in service quality as a result of a lack of harmony between dental practices. To solve this problem, scientists developed 3 universal systems: Universal Numbering Systems, Palmer Notation System, and International Numbering System.

Universal Numbering System was found in 1882 by German dentist Julius Parreidt. This system numbers 32 teeth, starting with the maxillary right third molar in the upper right the jaw and ending with the mandibular tooth in the lower right jaw. For primary dentition, the system is using letters A through T. The main benefit of this system is that a sequential model is followed in naming the teeth and the location of the relevant tooth can be easily understood due to the simplicity of the system.

Palmer system was discovered by Hungarian dentist Adolf Zsigmondy in 1861. In this system, in the order of moving away from the midline, adult teeth are shown as numbers 1 to 8, and milk teeth are shown as A to E. This system also includes symbols showing which quadrant the tooth is in (┘└ ┐┌) and numbers showing its distance from the midline. Since each left and right maxillary central incisor is indicated by the number 1, there is a "┘" symbol below the number which demonstrates the right one, and "└" symbol which demonstrates left one. This system provides ease of application and communication.

International Numbering System uses two digits for each tooth. While the first digit indicates the quadrant, the second digit indicates the tooth type. For instance, 23 pronounce 2 quadrant left upper canine. Since this system gives a unique number for each tooth, it is easy to remember and makes verbal communication possible. This system is also compatible with computer keyboards.

In conclusion, with Universal Numbering Systems, Palmer Notation System, and International Numbering System, the naming of teeth, which had been a problem for dentists for a long time, now has a solution. If dentists do not want to have difficulties in their practices and communication, they should at least use one of these systems.

Resources:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suhwJXA0m6A
2. https://codental.uobaghdad.edu.iq/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2018/10/2-4th-2018.pdf
3. ALBAYRAK, Sinem, "Giriş ve Terminoloji / Diş Formülü ve Gösterimi Sistemleri", Medipol Üniversitesi, Protetik Diş Tedavisi Anabilim Dalı, PDF: (17-34)