What Do the Numbers Mean at the Dentist?

If you’ve ever sat in the chair and heard us calmly calling out numbers while we examine your mouth, you might have wondered what they actually mean – and whether you should be worried. Those numbers aren’t secret codes; they’re simply a clear, standardised way for us to record the health of your gums and teeth so we can track changes over time and plan the right care for you.

In our experience, once patients understand what these numbers represent, check-ups feel far less mysterious and a lot more collaborative. Instead of feeling like things are being “done to you”, you become an active partner in looking after your mouth, which usually leads to healthier gums and more confident smiles. At our friendly practice in Walton on the Hill, transparency and plain language are central to the way we look after families, whether you’re visiting us for a routine examination, hygiene visit, cosmetic treatment or something more advanced.

In this guide, we’ll explain the main numbers you might hear during an appointment with us: your gum health scores (BPE), tooth numbers, and sometimes measurements in millimetres. We’ll also show how we use those readings to tailor your care, and what you can do at home to help improve them between visits.

Gum Health Numbers: Understanding Your BPE Score

One of the most common sets of numbers you’ll hear during a check-up are short scores between 0 and 4. These are your Basic Periodontal Examination (BPE) scores – a quick gum health screening used routinely across the UK. We gently run a small, rounded probe around the gum line, dividing your mouth into six sections (called sextants), and give each one a score based on what we find.

Those scores help us pick up early signs of gum disease, decide how often you should see our hygienist, and whether you might benefit from more detailed cleaning or gum treatment. At our practice, we use BPE as part of our wider focus on preventive care and tailored maintenance, alongside regular check-ups and hygienist appointments, which you can read more about on our treatments page.

What Each BPE Number Means

Here’s what those BPE scores usually mean in everyday terms:

●     Score 0 – Healthy gums
 No bleeding on probing, no pockets deeper than 3.5 mm, and no obvious plaque-trapping tartar. This is what we like to see, and it means your existing cleaning routine and regular visits are working well.

●     Score 1 – Mild inflammation
 Your gums may bleed when gently probed, but there’s no tartar and pocket depths are still normal. This is often a sign to fine-tune brushing technique, focus on the gum line, and clean between the teeth more consistently.

●     Score 2 – Plaque and tartar present
 We can feel deposits around the gum margin that make it easier for bacteria to irritate the tissues. At this stage, we’ll typically recommend a hygiene appointment to remove tartar, along with tailored home-care advice.

●     Score 3 – Early gum disease (periodontitis)
 The probe drops slightly deeper (4–5 mm), suggesting the supporting structures of the tooth are beginning to be affected. Here, we usually discuss more detailed cleaning around the roots and closer monitoring of the area.

●     Score 4 – Advanced gum disease
 Pockets of 6 mm or more mean there is a higher risk of bone loss and eventual tooth mobility if issues aren’t addressed. We’ll talk through more intensive treatment and, if needed, consider specialist periodontal input.

Sometimes you might hear us mention a star alongside a number (for example, “3 star”). This tells us there are additional features in that sextant, such as recession, tooth mobility or involvement where the roots divide, and it prompts us to look more closely at that area.

Why Your BPE Numbers Matter

Your BPE scores give us a snapshot of how healthy – or vulnerable – your gums are at a given moment. Higher numbers mean bacteria and plaque are having more of an effect on the tissues that support your teeth, even if you’re not feeling pain yet. Left untreated, gum disease can lead to bone loss, loose teeth and, ultimately, tooth loss.

There is also growing awareness that active gum disease is linked with wider health issues, including diabetes control and cardiovascular risk. This is one of the reasons we take gum health so seriously within our routine examinations, hygiene appointments and more advanced periodontal care. Over time, we compare your scores to previous visits, so we can show you how things are improving or where we need to focus more attention together.

You can learn more about how we look after your gums and teeth at your routine visits on our general treatments page.

Tooth Numbers: How We Talk About Individual Teeth

The other numbers you might hear us call out refer to individual teeth. In the UK, many practices use the FDI World Dental Federation system, which labels each adult tooth with a two‑digit number. The first digit tells us which quadrant of your mouth we’re in, and the second tells us which tooth from the front we’re talking about.

The quadrants are numbered: 1 (upper right), 2 (upper left), 3 (lower left), and 4 (lower right). Within each quadrant, the front tooth is 1, the next one along is 2, and so on back to the molars. So “tooth 36”, for instance, is your first molar in the lower left jaw.

This system lets us record findings precisely and plan treatments accurately – whether that’s a small filling, a crown, a dental implant, or cosmetic work like veneers or composite bonding. For children, we sometimes use letters instead of numbers for baby teeth; again, this is simply to keep an accurate, consistent record of each tooth and its health.

Millimetres and Pocket Depths: When We Measure in More Detail

If your BPE scores suggest gum disease, or if we’re monitoring an at‑risk area more closely, we may move beyond simple 0–4 scores and record exact measurements in millimetres. These measurements are usually “pocket depths” – the distance between the gum margin and the point where the tissues attach to the tooth.

In healthy gums, this space is shallow and snug. As inflammation and periodontitis progress, the tissues detach and the pocket deepens, creating more room for bacteria to gather out of reach of normal brushing. When we carry out a full periodontal chart, we may measure six points around each tooth and call out figures like 3, 4 or 5 mm in sequence.

This level of detail guides our more advanced gum treatments and helps us show you, over time, how pockets respond to professional cleaning and improved home care. In our experience, many patients find it motivating to see their numbers improve as they follow tailored advice from our team and attend regular hygiene care.

How We Use Your Numbers to Plan Your Care

We never look at your numbers in isolation – they’re part of a broader picture that includes your dental and medical history, lifestyle, home care and what you want to achieve with your smile. For example:

●     If your BPE scores are mainly 0–2, we’ll usually recommend routine examinations and hygienist visits at intervals that match your risk level, along with personalised advice to keep everything stable.

●     If we start to see 3s or 4s, or deeper pockets in specific areas, we’ll discuss more structured gum treatment and closer monitoring.

●     If tooth numbers show repeated issues in certain areas (for example, recurring decay or fractures), we’ll talk to you about options such as composite bonding, crowns or dental implants where appropriate.

We always explain what the numbers mean in plain language and give you time to ask questions. Many of our patients tell us they appreciate this openness, particularly if they’ve had a worrying experience elsewhere or are nervous about their gum health. Our aim is to help you understand what’s happening, agree a plan together, and then support you step‑by‑step as we put it into action.

What You Can Do Between Visits to Improve Your Numbers

The encouraging part is that your numbers aren’t fixed – with the right combination of professional support and consistent home care, they can improve. We regularly see patients move from higher BPE scores to healthier readings as they commit to simple, sustainable habits and keep up with hygiene visits.

Between appointments, you can help your own scores by:

●     Brushing twice a day for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste, paying close attention to the gum line.

●     Cleaning between every tooth daily using floss or properly‑sized interdental brushes.

●     Cutting down on smoking and working with your GP to keep conditions like diabetes well managed, as these can significantly affect gum health.

●     Keeping to the examination and hygiene schedule we recommend so we can spot and manage any changes early.

If you’re unsure hich brushes or techniques to use, our team is always happy to demonstrate them during your check-up or hygiene visit, drawing on our day‑to‑day experience of what works best for different mouths.

FAQs About Dental Numbers

• Are high numbers at the dentist always bad?

  Higher BPE scores (3 or 4) are a sign that your gums need extra attention and that there may already be some loss of support around the teeth. That doesn’t mean it’s “too late”, but it does mean we should act promptly with targeted cleaning, tailored home-care advice and regular reviews. With the right approach, we can often stabilise your gum health and prevent things getting worse.

• Can my BPE scores go back down?

  Yes – in many cases, scores of 1 or 2 can return to 0 with consistent brushing, interdental cleaning and professional hygiene treatment. Even where there has been some permanent attachment loss, we can frequently reduce pocket depths and bleeding with treatment, helping to create a healthier, more stable situation for the long term.

• Why do you sometimes measure in millimetres instead of just using 0–4?

  The BPE is a quick screening tool; millimetre measurements are used when we need a more detailed picture of specific teeth or areas. Exact pocket depths help us plan advanced gum treatment, monitor progress precisely and identify any sites that need extra attention or more frequent review.

• What if I don’t understand my numbers during the appointment?

  Please ask us to talk you through them – we’re always happy to pause and explain. We can show you where in your mouth the higher scores are, what they mean, and how treatments such as professional cleaning, improved home care or, where appropriate, restorative work like composite bonding or veneers might help.