FOUR PERMANENT FIRST MOLARS. 57 



with caries treated by total excision. I have not 

 the least doubt but that, with proper care and 

 attention, this patient will retain his remaining 

 teeth for many years to come. Again referring to 

 the Fig., it will be seen that three of the upper 

 bicuspides are retained in rather a mal>position 

 by the points of the corresponding under teeth. 

 Were the relations anxious for the removal of 

 this defect, it would be most legitimate on the 

 part of the dentist to have recourse to mecha- 

 nism ; for, once corrected, the defect cannot again 

 occur, owing to nature providing the mechanism 

 to retain the teeth permanently in their normal 

 position. 



The uncle of this patient has also rather a small 

 arch; his case for the cure of irregularity was 

 treated by the removal of anterior teeth. On 

 the right under side an eye-tooth and bicuspid 

 were taken out. The result has been a large gap ; 

 the under wisdom-teeth have not had room to 

 properly develope themselves. The only stopped 

 teeth in the head are some of the first molars. 



Had this case been treated by the removal of the 

 first molars, there would have been no gap or 

 vacancy on the right under side ; the wisdom- 

 teeth would have had room to fully develope them- 

 selves, and there would have been no stopped teeth 

 in the head. 



V. Fig. 5 represents a very large arch, where 

 the first molars were removed for most extensive 



