162 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



or altered; kind of fillings and location; gold crowns, bridges or 

 artificial plates, etc. All these and other distinct features could be 

 easily recorded with sufficient clearness to enable the record to be 

 compared with the subject, even if dead and if only the skeleton re- 

 mained, to assist materially in identification by another expert. 



By way of suggesting a scheme for the tabulating of the dental 

 peculiarities, the following plan of classification is proposed, which 

 covers all the general features of the teeth and their environments and 

 could be recorded by one and read by another expert dentist. This 

 scheme is merely suggestive and could be improved by practise and 

 experience. 



Classified list of dental and oral peculiarities: 



(a) Curve of arch, whether round, square or V-shape. 



(b) Width of arch, in centimeters — from outside surfaces of first upper 

 molars. 



(c) Depth of vault, from grinding faces of molars. 



(d) Color and texture of gums, peculiarities of ridges in roof. 



(e) Size of teeth, whether large small or medium. 



if) Shape of teeth, whether wide or narrow, long or short, worn or not, etc. 



(#) Color of teeth, white or dark, yellowish, bluish or modifications, etc. 

 (This factor would be modified by time and habits, but the expert observer 

 would estimate that.) 



(h) Irregularities of the teeth, as to being out of normal place, crowding 

 and malpositions generally. 



(i) Teeth absent totally. 



(/) Fillings in teeth — noting positions on crown and materials employed. 



(k) Cavities of decay unfilled. 



(I) Diseased teeth, dead teeth, chronic abscess, etc. 



(m) Artificial teeth crowns — porcelain, gold, bridge teeth, etc. 



(n) Artificial teeth on plates. 



(0) Miscellaneous peculiarities — such as abrasion, pits or other congenital 

 markings; lingual cingules; number of cusps on second lower bicuspids, upper 

 second molars, etc.; third molars, whether present or absent; forms of crowns, 

 etc., and all abnormal forms of teeth, etc. 



Many of these characteristics might be perishable, of course, and of 

 value only for a limited time, but others are of permanent durability 

 and would last while the teeth themselves lasted. The perishable data 

 would need to be taken into consideration at a later examination and 

 a practical dentist would naturally make such allowances. The absence 

 of some data would not always mean lack of identity, for a reasonable 

 allowance would need to be made for perishable dental features. 



A chart is shown as an example on which is recorded some of the 

 peculiarities of an ordinary mouth according to this scheme. (Fig. 1) 

 (a) Eound square. (&) 5.8 cm. (c) 2.5 cm. (d) Gum reddish- 

 pink; health line well marked; rugoe shallow and rather straight, (e) 

 Medium small. (/) Rather wide and short, cusps low and rounded. 



