Confirm dentition
Distinguish primary from permanent teeth.
MEDIVEERSETHE PRACTICAL HUBOBSERVE / REASON / EXPLAIN
Dental notation and chart orientation
Translate a tooth identity into a specified notation system.
Your practical station
A teaching chart asks you to record an upper right permanent central incisor. Explain the dentition, quadrant and notation system before entering its identifier.
Recognise and interpret
Accurate charting requires the dentition, quadrant and tooth position to be stated using a consistent notation.
Locate
State the patient’s quadrant and tooth position, not the viewer’s side.
Record
Name the notation system and check the entry.
At the viva table
Try answering aloud, then open the suggested answer. Examiner questions vary.
01 / Why specify the notation system?
Different systems use different identifiers for the same tooth.
02 / In FDI notation, what does the first digit represent?
The quadrant and whether the dentition is primary or permanent.
03 / What does the second FDI digit represent?
Position from the midline within that quadrant.
04 / Why avoid a bare ambiguous number?
It can be misinterpreted across notation systems.