SYPHILIS ON THE TEETH. 99 



litic teeth present the reverse conditions. The ver- 

 tical notching of the incisors is perhaps the most 

 remarkable and trustworthy characteristic (see 

 Figs. 6 and 8, Plate I.). I do not mean that serrate 

 condition of the edges of the teeth which usually 

 occurs in the most healthy subjects. The syphilitic 

 notch is a single, deep, and broad one, including 

 almost the entire width of the tooth's crown. In 

 the normal serrations there are two shallow 

 notches, and consequently three tubercles ; both 

 notches and tubercles being on a much smaller scale 

 than those characteristic of the syphilitic tooth. 



The upper central incisors when cut, in these 

 patients, not unfrequently present the characters 

 seen in the upper central incisor shown in Figs. 

 1 and 2, Plate I. ; the prominent portion in the 

 centre of the cutting edge of the tooth is very 

 thin, and soon worn down by masticating, leaving 

 a central notch and tubercles on either side of it. 

 Thin-edged teeth often present a central vertical 

 notch ; but this is the result of fracture, as in 

 Fig. 7, Plate II., and is easily distinguished from 

 that produced by inherited syphilis. 



In many cases, the canine teeth exhibit a 

 peculiar circumferential notch near the cutting 

 point ; it is not due to caries, but exists when the 

 tooth is cut (see Fig. 8, Plate I.). 



A somewhat similar condition is seen in the 

 temporary canines (Fig. 4, Plat« II.), which I 

 suspect has here arisen from a circumferential 



H 2 



