Dental Terminology and Charting
Tooth numbering, surfaces and directions, the anatomy behind the vocabulary, reading a chart, procedure and specialty terms, and charting cleanly in the software.
Badge you earn
- 6lessons
- 60minutes of reading
- 24check questions
- Freeno account needed
Lessons
Work through them in order. Each one ends with a knowledge check that records your progress.
How Teeth Are Named and Numbered
Tooth types and their jobs, arches and quadrants, primary versus permanent teeth, and the three numbering systems you will meet in a US practice.
Start this lesson →Surfaces, Directions, and How to Read a Restoration
The five surfaces, the directional vocabulary, and how surface letters combine into restoration notation you can read out loud with confidence.
Start this lesson →The Anatomy Behind the Words
The layers of a tooth, the tissues holding it in place, and the landmarks that the rest of dental terminology is named after.
Start this lesson →Reading a Dental Chart
Existing, planned and completed work, status flags, colour conventions, and what the numbers in a periodontal chart actually record.
Start this lesson →Procedure Vocabulary and Who Does What
Diagnostic, preventive, restorative, endodontic, periodontal, prosthodontic, surgical and orthodontic vocabulary, and which specialty owns each one.
Start this lesson →Putting It Together in the Software
Where the vocabulary lands in practice management software, what clean charting protects, and the habits that keep a record readable.
Start this lesson →How this course works
Work through the lessons in order. Each one ends with exercises you can do in your own office and a few short questions to check yourself. Answer the check and the lesson is recorded as done, in this browser, with no account involved.
Finish every lesson and you can print a completion record for this course. The course also counts toward the certifications, which are the larger thing: several courses plus a timed comprehensive exam, ending in a certificate whose reference code anyone can verify.
This guide is educational content and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. Laws and regulations vary by state and change over time. Consult your own dental-specific attorney, CPA, and state dental board before acting.