How to Count Adult Teeth

As the replacements for baby teeth, adult or permanent teeth need to last nearly a lifetime. Take care of these essential chompers by visiting the dentist regularly and practicing good dental hygiene at home. By getting educated on how to properly count adult teeth, you can ensure you are familiar with the general structure of adult teeth so that you can spot potential dental problems early.

Instructions

• 1

  Educate yourself on the universal numbering system. This simple tooth numbering system is primarily used in the United States. For adults, the universal numbering system gives each tooth a number from 1 to 32.

• 2

  Start counting with tooth number one, which is the back upper right molar.

• 3

  Count all the way around your upper jaw ending on the last upper left molar. This tooth is number 16.

• 4

  Move to your farthest back molar on your lower left jaw. This tooth is the third molar and is number 17.

• 5

  Count around your lower left and right teeth quadrants until you reach the furthest back molar on your right side. This tooth is number 32.

• 6

  Write down the numbers of any teeth that you feel may have issues that you want to discuss with your dentist.