Page 307 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

Chapter 15 Dental Skills for the Veterinary Assistant 291

M – molars. Capital letters are used for the adult teeth Charting Symbols
while lowercase letters are used for the deciduous (pri-
mary) teeth. The teeth are numbered numerically per During the charting process the technician or veteri-
type of tooth. Look at Figure 15.10 on the dog chart. Note narian will call out the abnormal findings as she pro-
that the teeth left of the midline are identified by placing ceeds through the oral exam. The different lesions are
the number either as a superscript to indicate upper jaw marked with symbols on the dental chart. The following
or as a subscript to indicate the lower jaw. So, the upper are some of the more common lesions found:
right teeth starting at the midline and working around the
2
1
1
1
2
1
3
quadrant we have I , I , I , C , P , P , P , P , M and M . The • Sulcus depth is marked with a number on the
4
3
2
advantage of the anatomical system is that it is easy to appropriate surface of the tooth. For example, if the
remember, and many teeth can be identified at one time. technician says, “105 buccal sulcus 4 mm” you would
The disadvantages are that is can be more time consuming mark the number 4 next to the first premolar on the
to identify individual teeth and some computer systems cheek side of the tooth.
may not be alpha numeric friendly. Note, too, the cat den- • Fractured teeth are marked with a wavy line in the
tition skips numbers when you reach the premolars. direction of the fracture, either transverse or longitudinal.
Anatomic numbering system
Dog Cat

I 3 I 2 I 1 1 I 2 I 3 I
C 1 1 C

P 1 1 P
P 2 2 P
I 3 I 2 I 1 1 I 2 I 3 I
3 P
P 3 C 1 1 C
4 P P 2
P 4 2 P
P 3 3 P
1 M
M 1 P 4
2 M 4 P
M 2
M 3 M 1 1 M
3 M
M 2 2 M
M 1 1 M
M 1 1 M

P 4 4 P P 4 4 P

P 3 3 P P 3 3 P

P 2 2 P C 1 1 C
P 1 1 P
C 1 1 C I 3 I 2 I 1 1 I 2 I 3 I
Right Left
Right I 3 I 2 I 1 1 I 2 I 3 I Left
FIGURE 15.10 Anatomical numbering system.