Introduction
The tooth formula is also called the denture formula or tooth scheme in many textbooks and provides an overview of the teeth found in humans (and all other mammals). In Europe, the dental formula of the Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI), the international professional association of dentists, is generally used. The entire jaw is divided into four equal parts, so-called quadrants, to create the tooth formula.
Since the dentition is generally symmetrical, the tooth formula is usually only shown for one half of the upper and lower jaw. In dentistry, the teeth within the individual quadrants are numbered consecutively starting from the front incisor.
- The 1st quadrant represents the right upper jaw
- The 2nd quadrant the left upper jaw
- The 3rd quadrant the left lower jaw and
- The 4th quadrant represents the right mandible.
Upper jaw right Upper jaw left 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Lower jaw right Lower jaw right
Tooth formula in veterinary medicine
In veterinary medicine, on the other hand, numbering refers to the type of individual tooth and the tooth formula is modified accordingly. An “I” stands for the Latin name of the incisor (incisivus), a “C” stands for canine, a “P” denotes a premolar and an “M” stands for a molar. Furthermore, there is a milk tooth formula for all mammals and another formula for the permanent dentition, because every known mammal species goes through at least one tooth change during its life.
Tooth formula milk teeth
In humans, the first teeth, the milk teeth, emerge from the jaw approximately from the 9th month of life, the corresponding tooth formula looks somewhat different from the permanent teeth. The right upper jaw is numbered 5, the left upper jaw is numbered 6, the left lower jaw is numbered 7 and the left lower jaw is numbered 8. In addition, the milk teeth consist of only 5 teeth per quadrant and not 8 teeth as in the permanent dentition. Upper jaw right Upper jaw left 55 54 53 52 51 61 62 63 64 65 85 84 83 82 81 71 72 73 74 75 Lower jaw right Lower jaw left