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A STUDY OF TOOTH-ROOTS. 181

two canals may be distinctly existent. Figs. 218 and 219 indicate
that similar crowns may have roots quite dissimilar as to shape and
The latter has a but distinct
length. tiny right-angled crook at the
foramen.
Inferior bicuspids are often difficult because of the length and
attenuation of their roots. I do not mean that this is
always so, yet
Fig. 220, with its small crown and long, narrow root, is a fair ex-
ample of a lower bicuspid, while Fig. 221 adds to the difficulties of the
situation by possessing an extensive crook.
Molars. The buccal roots of the superior molars present probably
the most difficult problem in the whole range of root-canal filling. To
the prominent gentlemen who have repeatedly asserted that they can
fill any buccal root, I offer the pair exhibited in Fig. 222 for study
and consideration. To these same gentlemen, and to those who are
sure that at least they can fill the palatal root, I offer Fig. 223. Sup-
for an instant that succeed in the obstacles
posing they overcoming
offered by the crook at the end of each of these roots, I would still
ask how to fill the canal of the concrescent tooth seen attached to the

FIG. 222. FIG. 223. FIG. 224. FIG. 225. FIG. 226.

palatal root. Lest it be said that such conditions are quite rare,
I introduce Fig. 224, wherein the buccal roots are almost identical to
those in Fig. 223.
In Fig. 225, even supposing the dentist succeeded in filling the
badly crooked attenuated palatal root, and the equally distorted main
buccal roots, he might overlook the little extra root found between
the buccal roots.
In the lower jaw it is usually the anterior molar root that is trouble-
some. Ordinarily we expect single canals, though in the anterior
root the canals are often bifurcated. In Fig. 226 is a specimen
wherein the posterior roots are completely bifurcated, one offering so
bad a crook that it would have been quite difficult to fill it. In the
anterior root two distinct canals exist, though the root is single.
This tooth and its fellow, which is exactly similar to it, I removed
from the mouth of a negro boy. They are sixth-year molars. This
tendency to complete bifurcation is more common in the posterior
root. I have a number of specimens which show the double root
and the root anteriorly, being similar in general
posteriorly single