Teeth Numbering Charts for Adults & Children

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Plus, fun facts about your teeth that may surprise you!

Co-authored by Alina Lane, DDS and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: July 24, 2026 Fact Checked

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Adult Teeth

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Baby Teeth

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How Wisdom Teeth Factor In

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Why You Should Know

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Teeth Fun Facts

Confused by all the numbers you hear your dentist saying while they’re working on your teeth? Dental professionals use a universal numbering system to identify each individual tooth, and once you know how it works, it’s super easy to remember! We’re here to share how adult teeth and baby teeth are numbered, plus share some interesting fun facts about your teeth that will make you appreciate your pearly whites even more!

How are teeth numbered?

Adult teeth are numbered 1 to 32, beginning with your upper back-right molar (wisdom tooth) as 1. Your top teeth contain teeth 1 to 16, right to left. Tooth 17 is directly under tooth 16 (your lower back-left wisdom tooth), and the numbering continues along your bottom teeth to 32 (your lower back-right wisdom tooth).

Section 1 of 5:

Adult Teeth Numbering Chart

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1
Adult teeth are numbered 1-32, starting with your top back-right molar. Dentists split your mouth into 4 quadrants, each with 8 teeth (assuming you have all your wisdom teeth—we’ll cover how numbering works without them below). Tooth #1 is your third molar (wisdom tooth) in the upper right quadrant, all the way in the back. Tooth #2 is your second molar, and so on. Keep numbering your top teeth one by one until you get to #16 (the third molar in your upper left quadrant).^{[1]
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- Your bottom teeth numbers start with #17, which is the tooth directly below #16 in your lower left quadrant (your third molar/wisdom tooth). Keep numbering each bottom tooth one by one until you hit #32, which is directly under tooth #1.
- Did you know? The arc of your top teeth is called the maxillary arch, and the arc of your bottom teeth is called your mandibular arch.

Step 2 Each tooth also has a name that describes its shape and function.

You have 4 types of teeth in your mouth—molars (the large, flat, square teeth in the back that grind up food), premolars (the slightly smaller teeth in front of your molars with 2 sharp ridges for crushing food), canines (the pointy “fang” teeth for tearing food), and incisors (the flat, sharp teeth in the front of your mouth for slicing and cutting food).^{[2]
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Research source} Here’s a chart that shows each tooth’s number, name, and quadrant location:

Teeth Names and Numbers
Tooth Number	Tooth Name	Quadrant
1	Wisdom tooth (3rd molar)	Upper right
2	2nd molar	Upper right
3	1st molar	Upper right
4	2nd premolar (bicuspid)	Upper right
5	1st premolar (bicuspid)	Upper right
6	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Upper right
7	Lateral incisor	Upper right
8	Central incisor	Upper right
9	Central incisor	Upper left
10	Lateral incisor	Upper left
11	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Upper left
12	1st premolar (bicuspid)	Upper left
13	2nd premolar (bicuspid)	Upper left
14	1st molar	Upper left
15	2nd molar	Upper left
16	Wisdom tooth (3rd molar)	Upper left
17	Wisdom tooth (3rd molar)	Lower left
18	2nd molar	Lower left
19	1st molar	Lower left
20	2nd premolar (bicuspid)	Lower left
21	1st premolar (bicuspid)	Lower left
22	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Lower left
23	Lateral incisor	Lower left
24	Central incisor	Lower left
25	Central incisor	Lower right
26	Lateral incisor	Lower right
27	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Lower right
28	1st premolar (bicuspid)	Lower right
29	2nd premolar (bicuspid)	Lower right
30	1st molar	Lower right
31	2nd molar	Lower right
32	Wisdom tooth (3rd molar)	Lower right

Section 2 of 5:

Children’s Teeth Numbering Chart

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Children’s teeth are numbered 1-20, starting with the top back-right molar.

Primary teeth (also called baby teeth) are numbered the exact same way as adult teeth, except there are only 20 of them instead of 32 (children do not have premolars and only have 2 molars instead of 3).^{[3]
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Trustworthy Source

Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source} Here’s a chart that shows each tooth’s number, name, and quadrant location:

Teeth Names and Numbers
Tooth Number	Tooth Name	Quadrant
1	2nd molar	Upper right
2	1st molar	Upper right
3	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Upper right
4	Lateral incisor	Upper right
5	Central incisor	Upper right
6	Central incisor	Upper left
7	Lateral incisor	Upper left
8	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Upper left
9	1st molar	Upper left
10	2nd molar	Upper left
11	2nd molar	Lower left
12	1st molar	Lower left
13	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Lower left
14	Lateral incisor	Lower left
15	Central incisor	Lower left
16	Central incisor	Lower right
17	Lateral incisor	Lower right
18	Canine (cuspid or eye tooth)	Lower right
19	1st molar	Lower right
20	2nd molar	Lower right

Section 3 of 5:

Do wisdom teeth affect numbering?

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Wisdom teeth are still counted as 1, 16, 17, and 32, even if you don’t have them. For consistency, everyone’s teeth are counted the same whether wisdom teeth are present or not. For example, if yours have been removed, your upper right second molar is still labeled tooth #2 (it does not become #1 because the third molar is gone). This way, everyone’s incisors, canines, premolars, and molars remain numbered the same way.
- What are wisdom teeth? “Wisdom teeth are the very last set of molars on the top and bottom teeth,” explains board-certified dentist Alina Lane, DDS. “Generally, people have 4 wisdom teeth. However, many people are born without any wisdom teeth.”^{[4]
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  Alina Lane, DDS
  Board Certified Dentist
  
  Expert Interview}
- Wisdom teeth may be removed if there’s not enough space in your mouth for them to fit properly (they may erupt at an angle and press against other teeth, or become impacted underneath the gums).

Section 4 of 5:

Benefits of Knowing Teeth Numbers

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Teeth numbers help you understand dental treatment plans and describe problems. If you’re given a dental treatment plan, you may be confused by the numbers, abbreviations, and tooth names you see on the document. Being familiar with how teeth are numbered and named can help you read your plan more easily. You’ll also be able to understand what your dentist and hygienist are talking about while they’re working on you!
- Knowing your teeth numbers can also help you describe dental pain or problems more precisely during an appointment. You could say “I’m having sensitivity around tooth 12 or 13” instead of “somewhere in the upper left.”

Section 5 of 5:

Fun Facts About Teeth

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1
You’re born with your adult teeth. “We're all born with two sets of teeth,” explains board-certified dentist Tu Anh Vu, DMD. “When you’re born, you already have your adult teeth. You’re just not able to see them because they’re underneath your baby teeth.”^{[5]
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Tu Anh Vu, DMD
Board Certified Dentist

Expert Interview} Your baby teeth typically start falling out around age 6 in the order they grew in, and most kids have all of their adult teeth by age 13.^{[6]
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Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source}
2
Your tooth enamel is stronger than your bones. Board-certified dentist and oral surgeon Pradeep Adatrow, DDS, MS, shares that “Teeth are the strongest structures within the human body. They owe their strength to the presence of hydroxyapatite, a mineral also found in rocks.”^{[7]
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Pradeep Adatrow, DDS, MS
Board Certified Dentist & Oral Surgeon

Expert Interview} Unlike bones, which are made of living tissue that can regenerate and heal themselves when they break, your tooth enamel has no living cells. This is why you need to see a dentist if you chip a tooth or get a cavity!^{[8]
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Cleveland Clinic
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3
The visible part of a tooth (the crown) is only about ⅓ of the whole tooth. The rest of the tooth, called the root, is anchored to your jawbone beneath your gums to hold your teeth in place. The root is also connected to the periodontal ligament, which helps to cushion your teeth against chewing pressure and allows your teeth to gradually move over time when you wear braces.^{[9]
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Your teeth can grow in the wrong way, or even with cavities. It’s uncommon, but your teeth can grow upside down, sideways, or even rotated by 90 or 180 degrees! Upside down or sideways growth is common in wisdom teeth, which can become impacted (unable to erupt through the gums).^{[10]
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- And, in rare cases, some babies can be born with natal teeth (baby teeth that have erupted prematurely) that have weak enamel, causing them to emerge with cavities.