Types of Teeth in English: Classes, Dentition and Numbering

Every class of tooth has two names in English: canine and cuspid, premolar and bicuspid, third molar and wisdom tooth. Add three numbering systems that give one tooth three different numbers, and the difficulty of this topic becomes clear — it is the synonyms and the schemes, not the teeth.

This list covers 56 terms: the four classes, primary and permanent dentition, positions in the arch, quadrants, all three numbering systems, eruption and shedding, plus anomalies of number and form.

Who this is for

  • Dental students — nomenclature for exams and English-language textbooks
  • Clinicians — reading charts where a tooth is a number, not a name
  • Parents — understanding which tooth a dentist abroad is talking about

Word list to learn

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Word
incisor ɪnˈsaɪzə
central incisor ˈsentrəl ɪnˈsaɪzə
lateral incisor ˈlætərəl ɪnˈsaɪzə
canine ˈkeɪnaɪn
cuspid ˈkʌspɪd
eye tooth ˈaɪ tuːθ
premolar ˌpriːˈməʊlə
bicuspid baɪˈkʌspɪd
first premolar fɜːst ˌpriːˈməʊlə
second premolar ˈsekənd ˌpriːˈməʊlə
molar ˈməʊlə
first molar fɜːst ˈməʊlə
second molar ˈsekənd ˈməʊlə
third molar θɜːd ˈməʊlə
wisdom tooth ˈwɪzdəm tuːθ
six-year molar ˈsɪks jɪə ˈməʊlə
dentition denˈtɪʃən
primary dentition ˈpraɪməri denˈtɪʃən
permanent dentition ˈpɜːmənənt denˈtɪʃən
mixed dentition mɪkst denˈtɪʃən
deciduous tooth dɪˈsɪdjuəs tuːθ
primary tooth ˈpraɪməri tuːθ
milk tooth mɪlk tuːθ
baby tooth ˈbeɪbi tuːθ
permanent tooth ˈpɜːmənənt tuːθ
adult tooth ˈædʌlt tuːθ
succedaneous tooth ˌsʌksɪˈdeɪniəs tuːθ
anterior teeth ænˈtɪəriə tiːθ
posterior teeth pɒˈstɪəriə tiːθ
maxillary teeth mækˈsɪləri tiːθ
mandibular teeth mænˈdɪbjʊlə tiːθ
upper teeth ˈʌpə tiːθ
lower teeth ˈləʊə tiːθ
front teeth frʌnt tiːθ
back teeth bæk tiːθ
quadrant ˈkwɒdrənt
sextant ˈsekstənt
tooth numbering tuːθ ˈnʌmbərɪŋ
tooth number tuːθ ˈnʌmbə
FDI notation ˌefdiːˈaɪ nəʊˈteɪʃən
Universal Numbering System ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəl ˈnʌmbərɪŋ ˈsɪstəm
Palmer notation ˈpɑːmə nəʊˈteɪʃən
eruption ɪˈrʌpʃən
eruption sequence ɪˈrʌpʃən ˈsiːkwəns
erupted tooth ɪˈrʌptɪd tuːθ
unerupted tooth ˌʌnɪˈrʌptɪd tuːθ
exfoliation eksˌfəʊliˈeɪʃən
shedding ˈʃedɪŋ
supernumerary tooth ˌsuːpəˈnjuːmərəri tuːθ
missing tooth ˈmɪsɪŋ tuːθ
congenitally missing tooth kənˈdʒenɪtəli ˈmɪsɪŋ tuːθ
hypodontia ˌhaɪpəʊˈdɒnʃə
anodontia ˌænəʊˈdɒnʃə
peg lateral peɡ ˈlætərəl
fused teeth fjuːzd tiːθ
geminated tooth ˈdʒemɪneɪtɪd tuːθ

Useful phrases

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Phrase
Which tooth is bothering you?
It's the second molar on the lower right.
Adults have thirty-two teeth, including the wisdom teeth.
Your wisdom teeth have not come through yet.
This is still a baby tooth.
The permanent tooth is coming through underneath.
Children start losing their milk teeth at about six.
You are missing one lower incisor.
We number the teeth from the midline backwards.
The canines are the pointed teeth at the corners.
This is the first molar — it usually erupts at six years old.
There is an extra tooth here.
Do I need to have my wisdom teeth out?
The upper front teeth stick out slightly.

Charting Teeth: Tooth Types and Numbering Systems

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Tutor
Chart this patient for me. She's eight — what dentition is that?
Student
Mixed dentition. Permanent incisors and first molars, primary teeth still at the back.
Tutor
Start at the upper right. What is this one?
Student
The permanent central incisor.
Tutor
Number it in FDI notation.
Student
Eleven — quadrant one, tooth one.
Tutor
And the same tooth in the Universal Numbering System?
Student
Number eight.
Tutor
Which is why you write the system at the top of the chart. An '11' means nothing on its own.
Student
The lateral incisor next to it hasn't come through.
Tutor
So it's unerupted, not missing — check the radiograph before you write either.
Student
There's an extra one here, between the centrals.
Tutor
That's a supernumerary tooth. In that position it has its own name — a mesiodens.
Student
And these back ones are still primary?
Tutor
Yes — second primary molars, waiting to exfoliate. What replaces them?
Student
The premolars.
Tutor
Careful — the primary molars are replaced by premolars, but the permanent molars erupt behind them. Nothing exfoliates to make room.
Student
So the six-year molar is the first permanent tooth.
Tutor
Usually, yes — and parents often mistake it for a baby tooth, which is why it's the most neglected tooth in the mouth.

Common mistakes

Avoid these common mistakes

Wrong She has a beautiful denture with all her own teeth.
Correct She has a beautiful set of teeth. / She has a healthy dentition.

Denture in English is always an appliance: a removable prosthesis replacing missing teeth, hence complete denture, partial denture, immediate denture. The natural set is the dentition — primary dentition, permanent dentition — or, in ordinary speech, just someone's teeth or a set of teeth. French denture, Spanish and Portuguese dentadura all denote the natural teeth, which makes this one of the costliest false friends in the field: praising a patient's denture when you mean their smile.

Wrong The pain is coming from the eight on the lower left.
Correct The pain is coming from the lower left wisdom tooth.

Calling teeth by bare numbers is a habit of particular national schools, not international English. Russian and Polish clinicians say the eight for the third molar, and the number means nothing to an English-speaking colleague, who may also be using a different chart. Say the anatomical name — wisdom tooth, first molar, second premolar — and if you need a number, name the system: tooth 38 in FDI notation, tooth 17 in the Universal Numbering System. The safest universal formula is arch plus side plus name: the lower left first molar.

Wrong The fang next to the lateral incisor is misaligned.
Correct The canine next to the lateral incisor is misaligned.

Canine is the clinical term, cuspid its synonym, and eye tooth the informal name patients use for the upper one. Fang is reserved for animals, snakes and vampires; in a clinical note it reads as a joke. Speakers of German (Eckzahn) sometimes produce corner tooth by direct translation, which is equally unidiomatic. Note the pronunciation of canine: /ˈkeɪnaɪn/, stress on the first syllable.

Wrong My son is changing his teeth and a new tooth is already growing.
Correct My son is losing his baby teeth and a new tooth is already coming through.

Two calques at once. Children do not change their teeth; they lose their baby teeth, and clinically the teeth are shed or exfoliated. New teeth do not grow; they erupt, come through (British) or come in (American). The nouns follow the same split: eruption for arrival, exfoliation for loss, with mixed dentition naming the period when both sets are present. Nearly every European language uses grow here, which is why the error is so persistent.

Wrong There is decay in the small molar behind the canine.
Correct There is decay in the premolar behind the canine.

Premolar is the international term and bicuspid the common American synonym, named for the two cusps that distinguish it from the single-cusped canine. Small molar is a word-for-word rendering of German kleiner Backenzahn, Russian малый коренной and similar forms elsewhere, and it does not exist in English. Keep the family names straight: incisors, canines, premolars, molars, with the third molar also known as the wisdom tooth.

About This List

Four classes, two names each

There are four classes: incisor, canine, premolar, molar. American tradition also preserves older names based on cusp count — cuspid for canine and bicuspid for premolar. British and international texts prefer canine and premolar, so both sets appear in any mixed reading list.

Lay names run in parallel with clinical ones:

  • eye tooth — the everyday word for a canine
  • wisdom tooth — the same tooth as the third molar
  • six-year molar — the first permanent molar, named for its eruption age
  • front teeth and back teeth — the lay equivalents of anterior and posterior teeth

Three numbering systems: FDI, Universal, Palmer

The same tooth carries a different number in each system, and this is the main source of error when reading an unfamiliar chart:

  • FDI notation (ISO 3950, used across Europe) — two digits. The first is the quadrant (1 upper right, 2 upper left, 3 lower left, 4 lower right; 5–8 for primary teeth). The second counts from the midline. The upper right first molar is 16.
  • Universal Numbering System (United States) — a continuous run of 1–32 starting at the upper right third molar. The same tooth is 3. Primary teeth use the letters A–T.
  • Palmer notation — a digit from 1 to 8 plus a quadrant bracket symbol.

Knowing only one system means misreading someone else's records. The same chapter gives you quadrant and sextant, the units used to describe how much of the mouth a treatment covers.

Primary and permanent: six ways to say two things

Temporary teeth have four English names: deciduous tooth and primary tooth are clinical, milk tooth and baby tooth are everyday. Permanent teeth have two: permanent tooth and adult tooth. Then succedaneous tooth — a permanent tooth that replaces a primary predecessor, which means every permanent tooth except the molars.

Three stages: primary dentition, mixed dentition (both types present at once), permanent dentition.

Loss of a primary tooth has two words: exfoliation is clinical, shedding neutral. Coming through is eruption, and the order in which it happens is the eruption sequence.

Anomalies of number and form

  • Supernumerary tooth — an extra tooth beyond the normal count
  • Hypodontia — some teeth absent; anodontia — all absent
  • Congenitally missing tooth — never formed, as opposed to lost
  • Peg lateral — a cone-shaped lateral incisor
  • Fused teeth and geminated tooth — a standard exam distinction: in fusion two tooth germs join and the total count drops; in gemination one germ splits and the count stays normal

Register traps inside English itself

  • Cuspid and bicuspid sound current but are legacy American usage; international journals use canine and premolar
  • Wisdom tooth is acceptable in notes, third molar is expected in writing
  • Baby tooth in a chart reads as informal; deciduous or primary is the written form
  • Dentition means the set of teeth, not the way they meet — that is occlusion
  • Eye tooth is lay only and never appears in clinical records

Frequently Asked Questions

Incisors for cutting, canines (also cuspids) for tearing, premolars (also bicuspids) for crushing, and molars for grinding. Position is added as needed: central incisor, lateral incisor, first premolar, second molar. The third molar is better known as the wisdom tooth. Collectively the front teeth are anterior teeth and the back ones posterior teeth.

An adult normally has 32 permanent teeth, including four wisdom teeth, though many people never develop all of them. A child has 20 primary teeth. Between roughly six and twelve years both sets are present at once, a stage called mixed dentition. Remember that teeth is already plural: say thirty-two teeth, never tooths.

Both are correct at different registers. Wisdom tooth is the everyday name and is used freely with patients; third molar is the clinical term for notes and referrals, as in impacted third molar. The plural is wisdom teeth. The name reflects the late eruption age, typically seventeen to twenty-five.

Primary dentition is the full set of twenty baby teeth. Permanent dentition is the adult set of up to thirty-two. Mixed dentition is the transitional stage when both are present, roughly ages six to twelve, and it is the period orthodontists watch most closely. Permanent teeth that replace a primary predecessor are called succedaneous teeth.

FDI notation uses two digits — quadrant then tooth — so 38 is read three-eight, not thirty-eight, and is the international standard. The Universal Numbering System runs 1 to 32 straight through the permanent dentition and prevails in the United States. Palmer notation pairs a quadrant symbol with a digit. Always name the system, or describe the tooth in words, when writing across borders.

A supernumerary tooth is an extra tooth beyond the normal count, most often in the upper front region, where a cone-shaped one between the central incisors is called a mesiodens. The opposite conditions are hypodontia, meaning a few teeth are congenitally missing, and anodontia, meaning none develop at all. A small, tapered lateral incisor is a peg lateral.

A denture is a removable prosthesis — complete denture, partial denture, overdenture — and patients often call it false teeth. Dentition is the natural set of teeth a person has: primary dentition, permanent dentition. The words are not interchangeable, and speakers of French, Spanish and Portuguese frequently swap them because their cognates mean the natural teeth.

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