Clarify Tooth Numbering Before a Dental CAD Handoff

Treat the number as part of a labelled system

An unqualified tooth number in a message is incomplete context when teams use different conventions. Ask the sender to name the system and provide the marked reference, arch and side for the intended tooth or region. Keep the original wording so the clarification can be traced.

Do not choose a tooth solely because the number matches your local display. A mirrored screenshot, different display setting or copied instruction may require clarification even when a number looks familiar. The responsible sender remains the authority for the requested work.

What the software documentation actually says

exocad's DentalDB documentation describes settings that switch among FDI, Universal and Palmer numbering displays. It also describes using About to view the application version. This documents a software setting, not automatic agreement between the prescription, an imported job and every receiving output.

Record the actual source and receiving conventions. Ask Louie to verify the behavior in the installed release, including how the job labels and delivered evidence are displayed. This guide gives no tooth-conversion table and does not infer clinical identity from a setting.

Write an answerable clarification

A useful request names the ambiguous source label, the current revision and the affected decision. Ask for a marked location and explicit convention, then return the resolved instruction for confirmation before changing dependent work.

Use internal identifiers rather than patient information in the blank worksheet. Reference the permission-cleared marked view through its internal location; do not paste identifying screenshots into public troubleshooting channels.

A hypothetical cross-team example

Concrete terminology example from the ADA July 2024 value set: Universal 11 identifies the permanent upper-left canine; ISO 11 identifies the permanent upper-right central incisor (Universal 8). These are different teeth. This limited example is not an automated conversion service or a basis for changing a prescription without confirmation.

A revision says “change 11,” but the message does not identify a convention and the attached view belongs to an earlier revision. The designer holds the tooth-specific change and requests a current marked location with the sender's convention. Unrelated work proceeds only if its dependencies are explicitly unaffected.

Once the sender confirms the intended location, the team records that clarification with the revised brief and receiving display. It does not rewrite the original message as if it had always been clear. If the marked image and text still conflict, request a governing instruction instead of guessing.

Validation and limits

Louie validation pending — unverified locally. Louie must validate displayed numbering behavior and the clarification workflow with authorized examples. A responsible sender/reviewer must confirm tooth identity; this worksheet is not an automated conversion chart or authority to reinterpret a prescription.

Use internal references in the blank worksheet. Examples are hypothetical; applicable instructions and responsible approvals govern real work.