Our teeth, how built up, how destroyed, how preserved / described and illustrated by R. Denison Pedley, and Frank Harrison.

  • Pedley, Richard Denison.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Our teeth, how built up, how destroyed, how preserved / described and illustrated by R. Denison Pedley, and Frank Harrison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    our public museums. They have been carefully examined, and the results are at our disposal. The most valuable investigation, extending over a series of years, was that of the late Mr. Mummery, who examined 3000 skulls, 1658 of which were tabulated.^ An epitome of his results is contained in the following table: Race. 1. Ancient Britons 2. Anglo-Saxons 3. Romans 4. Egyptian Mummies 5. Native Americans ... \ 6. Australasians 7. Polynesian ... ... - 8. African 9. Asian ... .... From such investigation we recognize the presence of dental disease in all ages and races of the past. The higher percentage of diseased teeth of the Egyptians and the Romans seems to point to the effects of a high civiliza- tion, with its accompaniment of luxury. Much valuable information is also given in the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration. The Hygiene Committee of the British Dental Association examined the collection of British skulls in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.^ They state that Dental caries in skulls of ancient date was almost entirely absent, and where present it was trifling in extent. Skulls of modern date showed evidence of dental caries to a con- siderable extent. They also state that no comparative statistics as to the prevalence of dental caries have been found . In the absence of such evidence there is a well-founded belief that modern Western civilization has brought in its Percentage of Skulls in which one or more Carious Teeth were found. 20.1 15-8 28.6 33-3 I5-S ' Transactions of the Odontological Society, J870, - Vol. Ill, p. 99.