How many teeth are on a cat dental chart?

30 in an adult cat, against 42 in an adult dog. Kittens have 26 baby teeth, and they hold their own Triadan quadrants, numbered 5 through 8.

What does a number like 108 mean on a cat dental chart?

Quadrant 1, upper right, eighth tooth counting from the midline, which lands on the large shearing premolar. The hundreds digit always gives the quadrant, and the remaining two digits give the position.

Is the Triadan system used for dogs too?

Yes, it is the numbering standard across veterinary dentistry for dogs, cats, and ferrets. The layout stays the same, so tooth 108 names an equivalent position in each species even where the tooth types differ.

Pet Dental By Enamelly Editorial Team September 18, 2026 Updated September 18, 2026

Cat dental chart: how vets number and track feline teeth

Cat dental chart diagram showing Triadan tooth numbering in the feline mouth

A cat dental chart records 30 teeth, and each one carries a three-digit Triadan number rather than the name you would use at home. The system is the working language of veterinary dentistry, and once you can read the rows, the chart your vet hands you stops being decoration.

The part that trips up most owners comes first.

Why a cat chart shows 30 teeth, not 42

Dogs have 42 adult teeth; cats have 30, and the missing twelve are easy to name. Cats carry no teeth in the positions dogs use as first and second premolars along the cheek row, and they hold a single upper and lower molar pair per side for shearing rather than grinding. A dog’s rows are built for crushing; a cat’s are built for cutting meat off a carcass, and the count reflects it.

How Triadan numbering works

Each number is three digits: quadrant first, then the tooth’s position counting from the midline. The quadrants run 1 for the upper right, 2 for upper left, 3 for lower left, 4 for lower right, with 5 through 8 reserved for baby teeth in the same layout. So 108 reads as upper right, eighth tooth from the front.

Tooth	Triadan numbers	Count in a cat
Upper canines	104, 204	2
Lower canines	304, 404	2
Upper shearing premolars	108, 208	2
Carnassial molars	309, 409	2
Full adult dentition	101 through 411	30

Video: Kendra the Vet Tech

Veterinary references generally credit the modified Triadan system to Dr. Michael Triadan, a Swiss dentist, and it became the standard because tooth names differ between species while numbers do not. One chart layout covers dogs, cats, and ferrets alike.

Reading the symbols

Charts do not just number teeth; they record what each exam found. A circle can mean healthy, shading can mean missing, and arrows or abbreviations note mobility, fracture, or resorption. Feline tooth resorption lesions are common, painful, and often start at the gumline where only probing or radiographs catch them, which is one reason a paper chart alone cannot rule problems out.

General information only; your vet’s exam and imaging are what diagnose your cat. Early signs owners can watch for at home are covered in our guide on dental disease in cats.

Why the chart matters to you

The numbering turns recommendations into specifics. When a discharge summary advises monitoring tooth 108, you know it is the upper shearing premolar, and recheck notes compare like with like across visits. The same record-keeping logic is why daily prevention beats episodic cleanings, the argument in our guide to brushing a cat’s teeth, and why our overview of dental care for cats and dogs keeps both species on one calendar.