Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The works of John Hunter. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![Of Supernumerary Teeth. We often meet with supernumerary teeth, and this, as well as some other variations, happens oftener in the upper than in the lower jaw, and, I believe, always in the incisores and cuspidati. I have only met with one instance of this sort, and it was in the upper jaw of a child about nine months old: there were the bodies of two teeth, in shape like the cuspidati, placed directly behind the bodies of the two first permanent incisores, so that there were three teeth in a row, placed behind one another, viz. the temporary incisor, the body of the perma- nent incisor, and that supernumerary tooth. The most remarkable cir- cumstance was, that these supernumerary teeth were inverted, their points being turned upwards, and bended by the bone which was above them not giving way to their growth, as the alveolar process does. It often happens that the incisores and cuspidati, in the upper jaw especially, are so irregularly placed as to give the appearance of a double row. I once saw a remarkable instance of this in a boy; the second incisor in each side was placed further back than what is com- mon, and the cuspidatus and first incisor closer together than if the se- cond incisor had been directly between them, so that the appearance gave an idea of a second row of teeth. This happens only in the adult set of teeth, and is owing to there not being room in the jaw for this second set, the jaw-bone being formed with the first set of teeth, and never increasing afterwards; so that if the adult set does not pass further back, they must overlap each other, and give the appearance of a second rowa. Of the Use of the Teeth, so far as they affect the Voice. The teeth serve principally for mastication, and that use need not be further explained. is touched with the nail or with any sharp hard instrument, or when a portion of the enamel only is broken from the surface of a tooth? In the latter case every other part of the tooth may be touched without any sensation being produced, but as soon as the instrument comes in contact with the denuded portion of the bone, a painful acute sensation is instantly perceived.] a [The occurrence of supernumerary teeth is not at all uncommon, and they are found not as Hunter supposes, only amongst the incisores and cuspidati, but not un- frequently also near the posterior molares. When found near the front of the mouth they always resemble a small and ill-formed cuspidatus, and when near the molares the crown is broader and truncated, somewhat like the neighbouring teeth. It is almosi unnecessary to add that the case of irregularity mentioned in the second paragraph is one of very frequent occurrence.] e 2](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21996635_0002_0071.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
