Each of us was at the dentist's appointment and at the same time could hear a set of obscure numbers. In addition, when the doctor mentions that 36 teeth need treatment, the patient is perplexed - I have 32 of them! Even children know about how many teeth we have, but dentistry uses its own numbering of teeth. This helps to better navigate to other doctors and accurately fill out the necessary medical documents. But is it necessary, or can you do without it?
Why is this needed?
All our teeth are different, and each of them fulfills its own purpose: some serve to bite off food, others are responsible for chewing it. Assignment of teeth to the teeth ensures the diagnosis of the oral cavity and the correct filling of the medical record.
According to the international medical classification, each tooth has its own name, which can give complete information about its location. However, as dental practice shows, such a system is not very convenient for doctors. As a result, valuable time is wasted listing special terms. And this greatly distracts the specialist from solving a specific problem.
To simplify the task, a digital designation was introduced. Names are no longer complicated. In addition, this significantly reduced the time required to fill out an outpatient card. In the end, a visit to the dentist gained functionality and became more optimized.
But before proceeding to the analysis of tooth numbering in dentistry, we will analyze what kind of teeth we have and what their purpose is.
Types of teeth and their purpose
Our dentofacial organ provides the breathing process, performs a speech function, and, of course, is responsible for eating and chewing food. Mother Nature in truth creates everything at a high level. In our body, almost all systems are symmetrical. And teeth are no exception - they are located in a specific order of 16 pieces on each jaw.
All teeth can be divided into several types:
- Incisors.
- Fangs.
- Premolars.
- Molars.
All of them differ in size, shape, which provides them with the fulfillment of the necessary functions.
Incisors
Their location is the front side of the oral cavity (4 pcs.). Their main task is to bite off products, eliminating strong pressure. This is possible due to the special structure: a flat view, a sharp cut of the surface, one root. Because of their ability to cut, they got their name.
Fangs
The next numbering of teeth in adults after incisors is fangs, which are also 4 pieces, one on each side. The crown is quite strong, which makes these teeth more powerful. They can tear off pieces of food when you need to exert force.
Among all other units, fangs have the longest root process. Because of this, they are highly stable. And because they are in third place, they are also called triples.
Premolars or small basal
The main purpose of these teeth is to keep food in your mouth, but they also help to chew it. In their form, they resemble a prism. Based on the location, they are called fives and fours. Their surface is wider than that of fangs.
Molars
They are the main chewing. The molars close the dental arch - 3 units are located on each side. Their main role is crushing and grinding food with the application of force. The last molars are better known to us as wisdom teeth and are called eights. They almost do not take part in chewing food.
In addition, sometimes molars can grow in the wrong way or not cut at all, which introduces certain changes in the numbering of human teeth. In some cases, only part of the crown is visible. As for the process of teething, it is accompanied by pain, swelling of the gums, the formation of periodontal pockets. Also not uncommon - the presence of inflammatory processes in nearby tissue.
Such powerful units have large and wide crowns with tubercles. However, due to its peculiarity, food debris can accumulate in the spaces between the teeth, which eventually begin to rot. Roughness of the surface of the molars often causes tooth decay. As for the roots, the upper units have 3 pieces each, while the lower ones have only 2.
Common dentition numbering systems. List
The most popular tooth numbering systems in Russia and Europe were invented at different times, but they have one essence - to facilitate the process of diagnosis and treatment for doctors. Thus, it is possible to quickly and accurately explain which tooth is susceptible to disease. How is the numbering? Now we will study everything. To do this, we consider in detail such systems:
- Viola.
- Sigmondi – Palmer.
- Haderupa.
- American
- Universal.
Each of them has its own characteristics.
Viola
The Viola system is considered more optimal and has been used in dental practice in many countries for many years. Its main advantage is ease of understanding. And that's why.
The principle is as follows. The entire jaw apparatus is divided into 4 parts or segments, and a two-digit number is assigned to each tooth. The first of them corresponds to the segment number, and the second to a specific tooth. For example, 17 is 1 sector, 24 is the second, 35 is the third, and 46 is the fourth.
In this case, the numbering starts from the middle of the dentition and follows in the left and right directions. The incisors are the very first (there are two), after them the fangs are the third, followed by the premolar numbers 4 and 5, then the last two molars - 6 and 7. Then the honorable 8th place is given to the wisdom teeth on each jaw. The numbering of the teeth is a bit like a coordinate system, which allows you to explain the location of the affected tooth with a high degree of accuracy. It’s not possible to get confused here. Only this system is applicable only to adults who already have permanent teeth.
In relation to children, a slightly different principle is used. The first digits that indicate a segment vary between 5 and 8. In other words, the five is the usual unit, the eight corresponds to the four.
Sigmondi – Palmer System
It began to be used from the end of the 19th century, and it was invented by a doctor Adolf Zigmondi. Here, too, there is a division into segments, only each has its own corner, at the bottom of which there is a figure indicating the position of each tooth. The numbering itself consisted of Arabic numerals for adult patients and Roman numerals for children.
But over time, the imperfection of the system began to appear - the human factor affected. Often, Arabic and Roman numerals got confused, which led to discrepancies and errors in data transmission. In dental practice, this is unacceptable, especially when it comes to the need for complex surgery.
Corridon Palmer proposed his own version of tooth numbering, replacing Roman numerals with Latin letters. Since that time, now many orthodontists have begun to use it in their practice.
Haderup Numbering
This system is almost a copy of Viola, with one exception. The fact is that instead of designating a segment there is a sign of addition or subtraction, in accordance with its feature:
- The plus is called the upper dentition, while the minus is the lower.
- Moreover, if the sign is on the left, then it means the left side, if on the right - respectively, the right.
For example: there is an entry in the outpatient card “3+”, this corresponds to the right fang. The sequence starts from zero, and the order itself is as follows. The numbering of the right segment begins with a character followed by a number. With the left segment, everything is exactly the opposite.
As for children, there are some differences, but the rest is the same. To indicate deciduous teeth, a zero is put in front of the number. The entry “01-” indicates the lower left incisor.
Dental Standard USA
This system of tooth numbering in dentistry (photo will be presented below) is successfully used in Western countries. What is she like? To number the dentition, a alphanumeric designation is used:
- I (i) - thus the incisors are designated.
- C (c) are the names of clicks.
- P - designation of premolars, children do not have them.
- M (m) is the name of the permanent molars.
In this case, the capital letters correspond to the permanent teeth, and the capital teeth indicate milk teeth.
However, such a system does not take into account the position of the teeth, which can cause certain difficulties.
Versatile and simple system
Everything is much simpler here than in other methods of numbering the dentition. Each tooth is assigned a number from one to thirty-two. But this applies only to permanent teeth, while the milk teeth are called in Latin letters from A to T. The sequence starts from the right side of the upper jaw from the wisdom tooth and follows in a clockwise direction.
Since there is nothing complicated, the system is quite popular in many countries of the world. This can be seen by looking at the photo numbering of the teeth of this system.
Non-standard situations
In the practice of dentists can meet a variety of cases. And more often than it may seem. In case of an abnormal arrangement or non-standard number of teeth, numbering is performed in accordance with the methodology adopted in the clinic. Only in this case each unit (additional or absent) is described in a separate order. The outpatient map of the patient indicates the location of the anomaly.
The generally accepted numbering procedure can be changed when the milk bite is replaced by a permanent one. In this regard, new teeth are numbered in accordance with the adult order, and the remaining milk teeth are numbered according to the children's principle. This allows the doctor to track in which place a new tooth has appeared, and where it is still old. This can confuse the child’s parents, especially when two different tooth numbering systems are used, but not by a specialist.
It also happens that some adults do not grow wisdom teeth, which is not a deviation from the norm. And although this will be reflected on the map in any case, there is clearly no need to worry about this.
The fact is that scientists made one interesting conclusion. As a result of evolution, the need for these teeth has completely disappeared - they practically do not take part in chewing food. For this reason, among adult patients, those who lack eights, or they are not fully developed, are increasingly coming across.