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concave on the anterior, the reverse of what generally hap-
pens." This case fully shews the great accuracy of Albi->
nus : he did not mistake those singularly situated canini for
supernumerary teeth though he was aware that such fre-
quently occur.
Mr. Hunter mentions his having met with a case some-
what similar, and gives* " a sketch of the upper jaw of a
child, where the cuspidatus was inverted, so that its point
was turned up against the jaw, and the growing mouth of its
cavity towards the gum."
Amongst the temporary teeth supernumerary ones are
seldom observed. Dr. H. however has met with a few in-
stances of this kind ; they are much more frequently found
amongst the permanent teeth, and especially in the upper
jaw. Their shape in general resembles the cuspidati. He
further observes, " They are not confined to the front of the
mouth. I have found them in every part of the jaw, be-
tween the middle incisores, between the middle and lateral,
between the lateral and cuspidati,
have also ten or twelve times found teeth beyond the dentes
sapientise superiores. They were all small, the enamelled
part shaped like the adult grinders, but never with more than
one fang. I call them second wisdom-teeth, and always
compliment my patient on the probability of possessing a
double portion of sagacity."
How supernumerary teeth are formed we can easily con-
ceive, but how teeth could be inverted as Albinus and Mr.
Hunter have shewn, is much more difficult to be accounted
for. I have sometimes observed a supernumerary tooth,
firmly attached to a grinder ; Fauchard has noticed similar
• Nat. H'rst. explanat. of Tab. VIII. Fig. 9.