Injuries to tooth 8
Sitting right at the front, the upper central incisors are the teeth most often hurt in falls and accidents. In one children's hospital study of 654 injured baby and adult teeth, about 7 in 10 were upper central incisors, and falls were the most common cause.
Injuries to adult teeth are common. A worldwide review estimated that about 15% of people have injured at least one adult tooth, including about 18% of 12-year-olds.
Mouthguards help. In a review of contact-sport studies, about 8% of athletes who wore a mouthguard had a dental injury, compared with 48% of those who didn't.
The same tooth on the left side, tooth 9, has its own section on chipped front teeth and extra teeth that block them.
Where is tooth 8?
Tooth 8 is one of the two top front teeth right in the middle of your mouth: the one on your right side.
In a mirror, tooth 8 shows on the right side of your reflection. Someone looking into your mouth sees it on their left.
Right next to it, across the middle, is tooth 9, the other upper central incisor. Behind it is tooth 7, the upper right lateral incisor.
Its mirror twin on the left side is tooth 9. The tooth in the same spot in the lower jaw is tooth 25, the lower right central incisor.
Dental charts show the patient's right side on the left, so tooth 8 sits just left of the center line of the top row. Universal numbers start here: upper right teeth run from 1 (the wisdom tooth) to 8 (the front tooth).
What does the upper central incisor do?
Incisors have a thin, straight biting edge for cutting into food. They are the most visible teeth in the mouth. The two upper central incisors are your big front teeth. They are larger than the lower central incisors and the widest of all the front teeth.
Common problems with upper central incisors
- Knocked-out tooth. An adult front tooth that is knocked out is a dental emergency. See Knocked-Out Tooth Rescue for first aid.
- Cavities between the front teeth. Small cavities are fixed with a filling. If decay or an injury reaches the nerve, root canal treatment can save the tooth, often followed by a crown.
If tooth 8 hurts, feels loose, or the gum around it swells, the Dental Emergency Checker can help you decide how soon to see a dentist. Swelling that spreads to the eye or neck, or makes it hard to breathe or swallow, is an emergency: call 911. These are typical problems for this kind of tooth, not a diagnosis.
When does tooth 8 come in?
Both the ADA and AAPD charts give 7–8 years for the upper central incisors.
Tooth 8 replaces the upper right baby central incisor (tooth E), which usually falls out at 6–7 years (ADA).
In the ADA chart, they come in at the same time as the lower lateral incisors, after the lower central incisors (6–7 years) and before the upper lateral incisors (8–9 years). In the AAPD's 13-step order, from the first molars (step 1) to the wisdom teeth (step 13), they are step 3.
Under the gum, according to the AAPD chart, it starts to harden (calcify) at about 3–4 months, has a finished crown by 4–5 years and has a finished root by about 9–10 years, a few years after it comes into the mouth.
How many roots does tooth 8 have?
One straight, cone-shaped root.
Tooth 8 in FDI and Palmer notation
| System | Tooth 8 is written | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Universal (ADA, used in the US) | 8 | Adult teeth are numbered 1–32 around the mouth, starting at the upper right wisdom tooth. |
| FDI / ISO 3950 (international) | 11 | First digit 1 = upper right quarter; second digit 1 = first tooth from the middle. Said "one-one". |
| Palmer | 1┘ (often typed UR1) | The ┘ bracket marks the upper right quarter; 1 = first tooth from the middle. |
A lone "8" can only be Universal. FDI codes always have two digits, so 8 on its own is never an FDI number.
On a US chart, "11" is a different tooth. Universal 11 is the upper left canine (tooth 11), so "tooth 11" only means this tooth when the chart uses FDI.
Palmer needs the bracket. Every quarter of the mouth has a tooth 1 in Palmer notation; only the ┘ (or the letters UR) makes it this one.
All adult teeth in the upper right quarter
From the front of the mouth to the back:
| Universal | FDI | Palmer | Tooth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 11 | 1┘ (UR1) | Central incisor (this tooth) |
| 7 | 12 | 2┘ (UR2) | Lateral incisor |
| 6 | 13 | 3┘ (UR3) | Canine |
| 5 | 14 | 4┘ (UR4) | First premolar |
| 4 | 15 | 5┘ (UR5) | Second premolar |
| 3 | 16 | 6┘ (UR6) | First molar |
| 2 | 17 | 7┘ (UR7) | Second molar |
| 1 | 18 | 8┘ (UR8) | Wisdom tooth |
The Tooth Number Chart & Converter converts any tooth between the three systems.
Tools for tooth 8
- Knocked-Out Tooth Rescue: first aid for a knocked-out adult tooth.
- Dental Emergency Checker: how soon to see a dentist if it hurts or breaks.
- Adult Teeth Predictor: likely dates for your child's adult teeth.
- How Long Does Dental Work Last?: how long fillings, crowns, veneers and implants usually last, from long-term studies.
- Dental Treatment Plan Decoder: plain English for treatment-plan shorthand like "#30 MOD comp".
Frequently asked questions
What tooth is number 8?
Is tooth 8 the same as tooth 11?
At what age does tooth 8 come in?
Why is tooth 8 injured so often?
Sources
- American Dental Association (MouthHealthy). Permanent Tooth Development (eruption chart). 2012. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- American Dental Association (MouthHealthy). Primary Tooth Development (eruption chart). 2012. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Dental Growth and Development (chronology after Logan & Kronfeld 1933, adapted 2003). Accessed October 26, 2026.
- World Health Organization. Oral health surveys: basic methods, 5th edition (tooth notation after ISO 3950). 2013. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Nelson SJ. Elsevier. Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion, 11th edition. 2019.
- American Dental Association. ADA Dental Claim Form (tooth designation systems). Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Dentalcare.com (continuing education course CE500). An Overview of Dental Anatomy: Types of Teeth and their Functions. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Cleveland Clinic. Teeth: Anatomy, Types, Function & Care. last updated January 26, 2023. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Ng L, Malandris M, Cheung W, Rossi-Fedele G. Dental Traumatology 36(4):360–370. Traumatic dental injuries presenting to a paediatric emergency department in a tertiary children's hospital, Adelaide, Australia. 2020. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Petti S, Glendor U, Andersson L. Dental Traumatology 34(2):71–86. World traumatic dental injury prevalence and incidence, a meta-analysis. 2018. Accessed October 26, 2026.
- Fernandes LM et al. Dental Traumatology 35(1):54–72. The use of mouthguards and prevalence of dento-alveolar trauma among athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2019. Accessed October 26, 2026.
Last reviewed by the Dental Health Time editorial team, against the sources above. How we review.