universal numbering system universal numbering system the universal numbering system, sometimes called the "american system", is a dental notation system commonly used in the united states. universal numbering system. this is a dental practitioner view, so tooth number 1, the rear upper tooth on the patient's right, appears on the left of the chart. most of the rest of the world uses the fdi world dental federation notation, accepted as an international standard by the international standards organization as iso 3950. however, dentists in the united kingdom commonly still use the older palmer notation despite the difficulty in representing its graphical components in computerized (non-handwritten) records. left and right dental charts are normally arranged from the viewpoint of a dental practitioner facing a patient. the patient's right side appears on the left side of the chart, and the patient's left side appears on the right side of the chart. the labels "right" and "left" on the charts in this article correspond to the patient's right and left, respectively. universal numbering system although it is named the "universal numbering system", it is also called the "american system" as it is only used in the united states. the uppercase letters a through t are used for primary teeth and the numbers 1 - 32 are used for permanent teeth. the tooth designated "1" is the maxillary right third molar ("wisdom tooth") and the count continues along the upper teeth to the left side. then the count begins at the mandibular left third molar, designated number 17, and continues along the bottom teeth to the right side. each tooth has a unique number or letter, allowing for easier use on keyboards. universal numbering system table permanent dentition upper rightupper left 12345678910111213141516 32313029282726252423222120191817 lower rightlower left primary dentition upper rightupper left abcdefghij tsrqponmlk lower rightlower left alternate system for primary sentition upper rightupper left 1d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9d10d 20d19d18d17d16d15d14d13d12d11d lower rightlower left tooth numbering comparison of alphanumeric notation, palmer notation, iso 3950 (fdi) notation, universal numbering system, and paleoanthropology notation permanent teeth and their assigned numbers (universal tooth numbering system) upper right 3rd molar (wisdom tooth)2nd molar (12-yr molar)1st molar (6-yr molar)2nd bicuspid (2nd premolar)1st bicuspid (1st premolar)cuspid (canine/eye tooth)lateral incisorcentral incisor upper left central incisorlateral incisorcuspid (canine/eye tooth)1st bicuspid (1st premolar)2nd bicuspid (2nd premolar)1st molar (6-yr molar)2nd molar (12-yr molar)3rd molar (wisdom tooth) lower left 3rd molar (wisdom tooth)2nd molar (12-yr molar)1st molar (6-yr molar)2nd bicuspid (2nd premolar)1st bicuspid (1st premolar)cuspid (canine/eye tooth)lateral incisorcentral incisor lower right central incisorlateral incisorcuspid (canine/eye tooth)1st bicuspid (1st premolar)2nd bicuspid (2nd premolar)1st molar (6-yr molar)2nd molar (12-yr molar)3rd molar (wisdom tooth)