The Dental Centre

Dental A to Z

Palmer's Notation

A form of dental shorthand used to describe individual teeth.

The mouth is divided into four parts called quadrants, upper left quadrant, upper right quadrant, lower left quadrant, and the lower right quadrant. Each tooth in the quadrant is then given a name and a number (e.g. the two upper and two lower teeth at the centre of your mouth are called centrals or 1's). The numbers of these teeth, added to the quadrant in which they are placed, give a precise location e.g. the central on the upper right side of your mouth is called an upper right central or upper right 1.

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