How many times have you been sitting in the dentist’s chair, wondering what they are talking about while they look at your teeth? While terms like a left third molar and lower right bicuspid may sound like fancy terms reserved for medical professionals, they are actually easily understood by most people if you know what to listen for. This guide will help you understand how tooth numbers work and why they’re so important in dental health.
Anatomy Of The Tooth
When teeth are extracted, a dentist will record tooth numbers on a tooth chart. This is done to aid in restorative procedures and to ensure that teeth are replaced back into their original positions. It’s important for patients to know what these numbers mean and how they can use them to make informed decisions about treatment. Although we won’t cover all aspects of dental anatomy here, we will highlight some key points about tooth numbers for teeth with implants and teeth without implants.
Why Dentists Use Specific Numbers For Teeth
The Universal numbering system for teeth was created to help dentists and other dental professionals around the world communicate effectively about the tooth structure. Dentists use specific numbers when referring to teeth because everyone has different anatomy, and certain words can have multiple meanings depending on where you are located. For example, an incisor is a front tooth in North America, but an incisor is a back tooth in Asia; there’s also confusion surrounding lingual and labial, which describe a tooth’s position within your mouth. All of these examples show how using a universal numbering system helps eliminate confusion during conversations between doctors.
Why Are There Gaps Between Teeth?
It’s common to see gaps between teeth, but why? Believe it or not, we all start out with gaps between our teeth. When children are born, their baby teeth will sometimes come in different than expected because they’re supposed to fall out and be replaced by adult teeth. However, at some point during childhood, most baby teeth do fall out and space is created. For some people that process happens naturally; for others, tooth extraction is necessary before new adult teeth can take root. When a tooth extraction occurs there are healing stages that must be completed before your mouth returns to its normal state.
Anatomy Of A Tooth From Front To Back
Every tooth has a number, or an anatomical name, that dentists use when referring to it. The following is a look at what each part and number mean when looking at teeth from front to back: • Mesial Root- The root closest to your lips. Also known as mesial marginal, if you were looking at someone’s teeth from behind, it would be on your left. • Distal Root– The root closest to your throat. Also known as distal marginal, if you were looking at someone’s teeth from behind, it would be on your right. • Facial Surface- Face side of the tooth; toward cheeks. If you look directly into someone’s mouth as they smile, these are the surfaces facing you directly.
Which Method Do Dentists Follow?
Dentists follow a number system when it comes to tooth extraction healing stages. After performing a tooth extraction, they check to see which tooth is missing. If it’s your first tooth they remove it. This way your dentist can keep track of how many teeth you’ve lost and make sure all teeth are being accounted for during every stage of dental treatment.
What About Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are frequently removed. Unfortunately, they can sometimes cause a lot of problems while they’re still growing. They’re often not fully developed by adulthood and may become impacted—meaning they don’t have enough room to break through your gums. If your wisdom teeth aren’t extracted before puberty, there’s a high risk that they’ll begin to grow too much and overlap with other teeth or even pierce soft tissue inside your mouth. An infected wisdom tooth will be incredibly painful, which is why it’s important to start thinking about tooth extraction healing stages early on.
