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By Alton Howard Thompson, D.D.S(Originally Published in Popular Science 1904)
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I have been reminded by the articles in the Popular Science Monthly, of the neglect of the teeth as a means of identification, which to me, as a practical dentist, has alwaysseemed very remarkable.No system of identification that I am aware of has ever mentioned these valuableorgans for this purpose, notwithstanding the facts that they are so varied in featuresso durable. They are the most indestructible of all animal tissues and their value in thisrespect ought to be appreciated, for after death, when all the other tissues havedisappeared, the teeth remain and maintain the features and peculiarities that theypresented in life.It is a source of wonder to the dental profession that the signs furnished by the teethhave been so persistently overlooked in systems of identification, especially by life-insurance companies. The number of signs furnished by the teeth, both of naturalfeatures and of artificial operations upon them, is so varied and extensive that theypresent an amount of valuable data that ought not to be ignored.A simple system of record of the natural peculiarities of the teeth and of the artificialoperations upon them could be devised which in the hands of a competent person,who would need to be an expert dentist, of course, would furnish reliable and lessperishable evidence than the other external signs of the body.Every dentist keeps a record of all the operations he performs for every patient, uponan individual chart or page in a special diagram, for his own convenience andprotection. By means of these charts, dentists have, in several instances, assistedmaterially in the identification of the bodies of persons for whom they have operated,after catastrophes, notably the charity bazaar fire in Paris. A similar chart could beincorporated in the examination records of life insurance companies, for instance, onwhich the dental peculiarities could be recorded in a manner which could be easilyread by another expert.Even if some teeth were lost or altered in the course of years, many signs would yetremain on the surviving teeth, for the original form of a tooth would be the same andan artificial operation could not be obliterated. Thus the size and width of the arch; the
 
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size, shape and color of the teeth; teeth missing or altered; kind of fillings and location;gold crowns, bridges or artificial plates, etc. All these and other distinct features couldbe easily recorded with the subject, even if dead and if only skeleton remained, toassist materially in identification by another expert.By way of Suggesting a scheme for the tabulating of the dental peculiarities, thefollowing plan of classification is proposed, which covers all the general features of theteeth and their environments and could be recorded by one and read by anotherexpert dentist. This scheme is merely suggestive and could be improved by practiceand 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.(f) Shape of teeth, whether wide or narrow, long or shore, worn or not, etc.(g) Color of teeth, white or dark, yellowish, bluish or modification, etc (This factorwould 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 andmalpositions generally.(i) Teeth absent totally.(j) Fillings in teeth - noting positions on crown and materials employed.(k) Cavities of decay unfilled.
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