Dental Charting: A UK Guide to Notation, Symbols and Templates

Dental charting is the record of every tooth in a patient's mouth: which teeth are present, which surfaces are decayed or restored, and what work is planned or done. In the UK it is written in Palmer or FDI notation, it sits in the patient's clinical record, and the GDC expects it to be accurate. The notation is standardised. The symbols and colours are not, so each practice needs one written key that everyone uses.

This guide is for UK practice owners, practice managers and clinicians who want a clear picture of how charting works and what a good chart should hold. We checked every source below in September 2026. It is not clinical advice: what to record, and how, is a matter for the dentist's clinical judgement.

What is dental charting?

Dental charting is the recording of each tooth and tooth surface on a diagram of the mouth, called an odontogram, to show what is present, missing, decayed, restored or planned. It forms part of the patient's dental record, alongside the notes, radiographs and medical history.

The duty behind it comes from the General Dental Council. Standard 4.1 of the GDC Standards for the Dental Team says: "You must make and keep contemporaneous, complete and accurate patient records." The same standard asks that records are clear, legible and "can be readily understood by others", and that they carry the name or initials of the treating clinician.

That matters for charting in particular, because a chart is often read by someone other than the person who wrote it: a hygienist, a new associate or a dentist at another practice.

Why does an accurate dental chart matter?

An accurate chart is the starting point for every treatment plan and every later examination. An inaccurate one carries errors forward, visit after visit, until someone checks the mouth against the chart.

The best UK evidence on this is an audit published in Dental Update in 2017. In it, Brown and Jephcote describe fourteen dentists at different UK practices checking the charts of 1,128 patients who were new to them but not new to the practice. They found:

• 44% of the charts were inaccurate.
• Inaccuracy ranged from 16% at the best practice to 83% at the worst.
• 5% of charts had too many teeth, and 5% had too few.
• 13% had missed amalgam restorations, and 18% had missed tooth-coloured ones.

The authors link this to the GDC's requirements and to the forensic importance of dental charts. A chart may one day be used to identify a person, so a missing restoration is more than an admin slip.

Which tooth notation do UK dental charts use?

UK charts use one of two systems: Palmer notation or FDI notation. NEBDN's exam guidance covers both, and FDI is the international standard.

Palmer notation (also called Zsigmondy-Palmer) splits the mouth into four quadrants and numbers the permanent teeth 1 to 8 from the midline. Deciduous teeth are lettered A to E. The quadrant is shown as UR, UL, LL or LR.

FDI notation gives each tooth a two-digit code. It is set out in ISO 3950, "Dentistry: Designation system for teeth and areas of the oral cavity". The standard says the first digit "designates the quadrant and differentiates between deciduous and permanent teeth, and the second identifies the tooth itself". So:

• Quadrants 1 to 4 are the permanent teeth: upper right, upper left, lower left, lower right.
• Quadrants 5 to 8 are the deciduous teeth, in the same order.
• Upper right first permanent molar is 16. Upper right second deciduous molar is 55.

That gives 32 permanent and 20 deciduous tooth codes, 52 in all. For a full side-by-side and a conversion list, see our guide to Palmer vs FDI notation.

Which tooth surfaces are charted?

Each tooth is charted as five surfaces, and the name of a surface depends on the tooth. A front tooth has an incisal edge and a labial face, while a back tooth has an occlusal surface and a buccal face.

The dental nursing exam board, NEBDN, lists the surface names in its Dental Charting guide:

• Mesial: the surface nearest the midline of the arch.
• Distal: the surface furthest from the midline.
• Occlusal: the biting surface of premolars and molars. Incisal is the biting edge of incisors and canines.
• Buccal: the surface facing the cheek, on premolars and molars. Labial is the surface facing the lips, on incisors and canines.
• Palatal: the surface facing the palate, on upper teeth. Lingual is the surface facing the tongue, on lower teeth.

Restorations covering more than one surface are combined: MO is mesio-occlusal, DO is disto-occlusal and MOD covers all three. Getting these right is where many charts go wrong: in the 2017 audit, 9% of charts recorded the surfaces of tooth-coloured restorations wrongly.

What do dental charting symbols and colours mean in the UK?

There is no single national set of charting symbols or colours in the UK. Symbols vary between dental schools, textbooks, practices and software, so the only safe rule is one documented key per practice.

NEBDN says as much. Its guide "acknowledges that there are a number of systems and software used to record charting" and "local and regional differences". Its notation is the one to use in the National Diploma exam, not a national standard. It is also a good example of how different systems can be:

• It does not use colour. Instead, each tooth has an inner and an outer grid.
• The inner grid shows work already present in the mouth.
• The outer grid shows work still to be carried out.
• Abbreviations mark specific work, such as RF for root filled, BA for bridge abutment, BP for bridge pontic and UE for unerupted.

Many charting guides and software packages use colour instead: one colour for work to be done, another for work present or completed. Red, blue and black are all used, in different ways. None of the UK bodies we checked (the GDC, NHS England, NEBDN and the BSP) sets a colour scheme. If a new associate trained with a different convention, a chart can say the opposite of what you meant.

So write your key down. List each condition, its symbol or abbreviation, its colour if you use one, and whether it marks a surface or a whole tooth. Give it to every new starter, and check that your software's defaults match it.

How do you chart a patient's teeth, step by step?

Charting in a fixed order means nothing is missed. The order below is a common approach, not a rule.

1. Confirm the patient and the date. Make sure you are on the right record, and note who is charting.
2. Record the teeth present. Mark missing, unerupted and partially erupted teeth first, so later marks land on the right tooth.
3. Chart existing restorations. Record each restoration by tooth and surface, with its material, and any crowns, bridges, implants and dentures.
4. Chart new findings. Record caries, defective restorations, fractures and tooth wear, surface by surface.
5. Record the periodontal screen. Add the BPE, and a fuller periodontal chart where the scores call for one.
6. Mark planned treatment. Show what is planned in your practice's planned-work style, so it cannot be read as work already done.
7. Check the chart against the mouth. Read it back, tooth by tooth, before the patient leaves the chair.

A read-back takes a minute and catches the kind of error the 2017 audit found most often: restorations missed or put on the wrong tooth.

What should a dental charting template include?

A dental charting template should cover the whole mouth, every surface, the periodontal screen, and a clear split between what is present and what is planned. It also needs the patient's details, the date and the name of the person charting.

A useful checklist comes from NHS England's Dental Record Keeping Standards: a consensus approach (2019). Its examination section lists initial charting and update of teeth, caries, defective restorations, existing restorations, previous endodontic treatment, mobility, prostheses, occlusion and tooth wear, as well as the BPE.

Built from those items, a printable chart or a template in your software would contain:

• Header: patient name, date of birth, date of charting, and the name or initials of the clinician.
• Notation: a note of whether the chart uses Palmer or FDI.
• Odontogram: all permanent and deciduous teeth, each split into five surfaces.
• Two layers: one for what is present in the mouth and one for work to be done, whether by grid, colour or a status mark.
• Tooth status: present, missing, unerupted, partially erupted, retained root.
• Restorations and prostheses: material, surfaces, crowns, bridges, implants, dentures.
• Findings: caries, defective restorations, fractures, tooth wear, mobility.
• Endodontics: root-filled teeth.
• BPE grid: six boxes, one per sextant.
• Key: your practice's symbols and colours, printed on the chart itself.

A charting template is not the same as a treatment plan. For what a written plan must include, see our dental treatment plan template.

How is the BPE recorded on a dental chart?

The BPE is recorded as six boxes, one for each sextant, holding the highest score found in that sextant. The British Society of Periodontology's BPE guidelines (2019) set out how.

The sextants are upper right (17 to 14), upper anterior (13 to 23), upper left (24 to 27), lower right (47 to 44), lower anterior (43 to 33) and lower left (34 to 37). Third molars are left out unless the first or second molars are missing. The BSP says a sextant must contain at least two teeth to qualify for recording, and a furcation is shown with an asterisk next to the score, such as 3*.

For what each code means, read our guide to BPE scores. If you work under an NHS contract in England, the highest sextant score also goes on the FP17; see our guide to the FP17 clinical data set.

How do you correct a dental chart?

You correct a chart by adding a dated correction, not by removing what was there. The original entry should still be readable.

GDC standard 4.1.5 says: "If you need to make any amendments to a patient's records you must make sure that the changes are clearly marked up and dated." On paper, that means a single line through the old mark, with the date and your initials. In software, it means an audit trail that keeps the original, shows who changed it and when, and ideally records why. Our guide to dental record keeping guidelines covers corrections and retention in more depth.

What should you check in dental charting software?

Good charting software should match the conventions above and keep an honest history of every change. If you chart on screen, or plan to, check that the software:

• Shows all 52 teeth, and lets each clinician choose Palmer or FDI.
• Names surfaces correctly for each tooth: labial on a front tooth, palatal on an upper tooth.
• Keeps planned work visually separate from work that is present or completed.
• Lets you set your own symbols and colours, so the screen matches your written key.
• Keeps every correction as a new entry, with the original left in place.
• Records the BPE by sextant, including a sextant excluded for having fewer than two teeth.

DentiPoint's dental charting covers each point on that list. Each user picks FDI or Palmer, marks are existing, planned or completed, and planned work always shows in blue. It starts with 20 UK default conditions, and your practice can add its own with a colour and a symbol. A correction is saved as a new entry with a reason, and each tooth keeps its full history.

It does not do everything. DentiPoint does not offer 6-point periodontal pocket charting, does not show FP17 figures on screen, and does not submit FP17 claims; those still go to the NHSBSA through your usual route. It records what the clinician charts and makes no clinical decisions. You can try it free for 30 days: see plans and pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is dental charting?

Dental charting is a diagram of the teeth, marked to show which teeth are present and the state of each surface. It is part of the patient's clinical record, which the GDC requires to be complete and accurate.

Which dental charting system is used in the UK?

UK charts use Palmer notation or FDI notation. Palmer numbers teeth 1 to 8 within each quadrant, and FDI is the international two-digit system set out in ISO 3950.

Are UK dental charting colours standardised?

No. We found no UK body that sets a colour scheme, and NEBDN's own exam notation uses an inner and outer grid instead of colour. Each practice should keep one written key.

What are the five tooth surfaces?

Mesial, distal, occlusal (incisal on front teeth), buccal (labial on front teeth) and lingual (palatal on upper teeth). The label depends on which tooth is being charted.

Is there a free dental charting template?

We do not offer a download. The list in this guide sets out what a chart template should contain, so you can check a printed chart or your software against it.

How should a mistake on a dental chart be corrected?

Add a correction that is clearly marked and dated, and leave the original readable. That is what GDC standard 4.1.5 requires.