No, they're not elephants. And technically, they're not even shrews. But it's not hard to see how elephant shrews got their name. This insectivorous African animal uses that glorious and elongated nose to hunt down spiders, worms, and insects, and then suck them up like an anteater does.
Tooth number 1 is the tooth farthest back on the right side of your mouth in the upper (maxillary) jaw. Numbering continues along your upper teeth toward the front and across to the tooth farthest back on the top left side (which is number 16). The numbers continue by dropping down to the lower (mandibular) jaw. Number 17 is the tooth farthest back on the left side of your mouth on the bottom. Numbering continues again toward the front and across to the tooth farthest back on the bottom right side of your mouth (which is number 32). In this system, the teeth that should be there are numbered.
When your dentist attaches a letter to a number, he or she is referring to the side or surface area of a tooth. M stands for mesial, which is a medical term for the front of a tooth. D stands for distal, or the rear side of a tooth. Other letters are used to describe different tooth surfaces.eeth 24 and 25 are the lower front teeth (called the lower left and right central incisors). The code letter refers to different parts or surfaces of the tooth. For example, M stands for mesial (the front surface of the tooth). D stands for distal (the back surface).