Dental Notation Guide

It was originally termed the Zsigmondy system after the Austrian dentist Adolf Zsigmondy who developed the idea in 1861, using a Zsigmondy cross to record quadrants of tooth positions. One of the advantages of Palmer notation is that it can produce a very graphical image, akin to a ‘map’ of the dentition; tooth transpositions or edentulous spaces can easily be depicted if desired. It would also be feasible to introduce additional alphabetic characters or other symbols, for example to denote supernumerary teeth or bridge pontics, to which a purely numerical method such as the FDI system does not lend itself easily.

Palmer notation for a normal adult full set of teeth.