Tooth numbering chart and converter
Tap a tooth to see its FDI, Universal and Palmer numbers and its name, or type a number in any of the three. Paste a list from a referral or a lab slip and convert it in one go.
How to use it
Tap a tooth
Permanent, primary or mixed teeth, laid out as you face the patient. The tooth appears in all three systems with its name in English and Arabic, when it usually erupts, and the tooth it replaces or is replaced by.
Or type its number
Type 36, 19, K or UL6. Left on Any, the converter reads the number in every system it fits and warns you when it means a different tooth in another one.
Convert a list
Paste the teeth from a referral, an X-ray report or an American record, choose the system to convert to and copy the result. A run such as 13-23 is expanded along the arch.
Keep the table
The full table copies into a note or a spreadsheet, downloads as Excel, and prints as an A4 numbering chart for the surgery wall.
The three tooth numbering systems
FDI (ISO 3950)
Two digits. The first is the quadrant, counted clockwise from the patient’s upper right: 1 upper right, 2 upper left, 3 lower left, 4 lower right, and 5 to 8 for the same quadrants of the primary teeth. The second is the tooth, counted from the midline: 1 for the central incisor to 8 for the third molar. So 11 is the upper right central incisor, 36 the lower left first molar and 85 the lower right primary second molar.
It is the system taught in dental schools across the Middle East, Europe and most of the world. Say the digits separately: 36 is “three six”, not thirty-six.
Universal (ADA)
One number per permanent tooth, 1 to 32. It starts at the upper right third molar, runs across the upper arch to the upper left third molar (16), drops to the lower left third molar (17) and comes back round to the lower right third molar (32). Primary teeth are lettered A to T in the same order. It is the standard in the United States, so you meet it in American textbooks, implant catalogues and records from US-trained colleagues.
Palmer
The tooth’s number within its quadrant, 1 to 8 (A to E for primary teeth), written inside a right-angle bracket that shows the quadrant as you face the patient: ┘ upper right, └ upper left, ┐ lower right, ┌ lower left. Orthodontists and British-trained dentists still write it by hand, and in typed notes it becomes UR6, UL1 or LL6.
Where the systems get confused
The numbers 11 to 32 exist in both FDI and Universal and mean different teeth. In FDI, 21 is the upper left central incisor; in Universal it is the lower left first premolar. 18 is the upper right third molar in FDI and the lower left second molar in Universal. A bare number on a lab slip, a radiology referral or an old record is a wrong-tooth risk until you know which system it was written in.
The fix is cheap: write the system with the number, “FDI 36” or “#19 Universal”, and use one system on every chart and document in the clinic. A patient file that stores each tooth once and only displays it in the user’s chosen system removes the problem altogether.
Save your design
Without saving, your clinic details, design and templates are cleared when the page reloads. Leave your email and they are kept in this browser from now on, and we will show you how they work in a Dentolize account, on every device and attached to patient files.
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Questions
What number is the lower left first molar?
36 in FDI, 19 in Universal and ┌6 (LL6) in Palmer. The lower right first molar is 46 in FDI, 30 in Universal and 6┐ (LR6) in Palmer.
What is tooth 21?
In FDI, the upper left central incisor. In Universal numbering, 21 is the lower left first premolar, which is 34 in FDI. Check which system the number was written in.
How are wisdom teeth numbered?
18 upper right, 28 upper left, 38 lower left and 48 lower right in FDI; 1, 16, 17 and 32 in Universal; and 8 in each quadrant in Palmer.
How are baby teeth numbered?
FDI gives them quadrants 5 to 8, so the upper right primary central incisor is 51 and the lower right primary second molar 85. Universal letters them A to T, and Palmer uses A to E in each quadrant.
Which numbering system should my clinic use?
FDI, unless most of your records come from the United States. It is the international standard and the one taught in the region. Whichever you choose, use it on every chart, lab order and referral.
Can I print a tooth numbering chart?
Yes. Print the numbering chart gives an A4 page with every permanent and primary tooth in the three systems, the tooth names and a short key, ready to print or save as a PDF.
Chart once, read it any way
In Dentolize each tooth and surface is charted in the patient file, shown in FDI or Universal as each user prefers, and carried into the treatment plan. Thirty minutes on your own clinic.