What does it mean when dentists say things like the cavity surface is Mol or Do or Mod?

Question

I asked the dentist but didn't get a clear answer -- something about how deep the cavity is. What's the scale -- is Mol worse than Do? And plus, how do they number your teeth? I want to track down my cavities and look at it myself but I don't know what numbers are for what teeth.

Answer 1

The above answerer is correct!  

O=Occlusal, which is the top of the tooth

F=Facial, or front of the tooth (cheek side)

L=Lingual (P=Palatal), or back of the tooth that faces the inside of the mouth (opposite of F, tongue side)

D=Distal, or the back of the tooth

M=Mesial, or the front of the tooth

-Mesial and distal surfaces are the sides where teeth touch other teeth.  The dentist looks at these using mirrors and x-rays, so you will probably have a hard time seeing these surfaces yourself.

The numbering system depends on where you are.  Here in Canada, there is a double digit system.  The mouth is divided into four quadrants:  1=upper right, 2=upper left, 3=lower left and 4=lower right.  (For baby teeth, the quadrants are 5, 6, 7 and 8).  

Each tooth is then numbered from the middle one outward...so your front tooth (central incisor) is tooth #1,  the lateral incisor is #2, canine is #3, etc.  Your wisdom teeth are #8.

The teeth are numbered with two digits.  The first digit is the quadrant where the tooth is located, and the second digit is the tooth number.  So your upper right central incisor is tooth #11, and your upper right wisdom tooth is tooth #18.  A lower left canine would be tooth #33.

Answer 2

They are the surfaces of the tooth

Mesial=m

Occlusal=o  

Lingual =L

Distal =d

the number of letters =the number of surfaces to be filled

so yes...mol is worse than do as it is 3 surfaces as opposed to 2

Answer 3

M=Mesial -- The side of the tooth adjacent to the tooth closer to the midline or incisors

O=Occlusal -- the side of the tooth you chew with

D=Distal -- The side of the tooth adjacent to the tooth further from the midline or the molars

L=Lingual -- Side of the Tooth facing your tongue

F or B = facial or buccal -- side of the tooth facing your cheek or lips

You can have any combination like an MOD meaning you have cavities on 3 sides of the tooth.

O would be the easiest to work on needing what they call a class 1 filling, anything involving M or D requires what they call a class 2 filling which is more work and more expensive.

There are also different class fillings like a 3 or 4 or 5 but that's a lot of detail to go into.

Tooth numbering goes from 1 to 32 counting top right wisdom tooth as 1, goes across comes down then back across with 32 as your bottom right wisdom tooth.

So, for a few examples 6 would be your right top canine and 24 would be your left bottom central incisor.

Answer 4

THESE ARE DENTAL ACRONYMS THE DENTIST TELL HIS ASSISTANT TO RECORD THER SURFACES INVOLVED IN A CAVITY. FOR EXAMPLE: AN MOL STANDS FOR MESDIAL-OCCUSAL-LINGIAL, AND MOD IS FOR MESAIL-OCCISA;-DISTALAND DO IS FOR DISTAL-OCCUSAL.

IT'S DENTAL LANGUAGE UNIQUE IN DENTISTRY.

TEETH I ADULTS ARE NUMBERED 1-32 BEGINNING AT THE FARTHEST UPPER RIGHT SEQUENTIALLY AND FINISHING WITH THE LOWER RIGHT. SEE BELOW.