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place of it. The permanent cuspid is impacted in the jaw.
Now I filled that httle tooth when she was not more than
fifteen, and it h.a& done service since. The loss of a tooth
under such conditions' is a grave misfortune.
Occasionally we find the temporary molars remaining in
position, and in a few instances I have seen a bicuspid de-
flected mesially or distally and take its place beside the tem-
porary molar, but generally if they are deflected at all they
will
often remain so late in life as the cuspids, yet I remember
one case in which the patient had one deciduous molar
still remaining when he died, at about seventy-two. This little
tooth had done s-ervice all these years, and, of course, where
there is a possibility that a deciduous tooth will do this kind
of service it is importaint that it have the best treatmient we
can give it.
Latterly, since the X-ray has come to be of value to us,
we can make a picture and determine the position of im-
pacted teeth, and in this way gain information that will be
of great value to us in determining whether or not we should
endeavor to save a retained deciduous tooth. Generally if an
X-ray will show the permanent tooth in position below the
temporary tooth, I should favor extraction of the temporary
tooth, with the expectation that the permanent tooth would
come forward ; generally they will. Heretofore we haven't
had the opportunity to make this observation. If the per-
manent tooth was in its normal position it was very difHcult
to tell whether it was there at all or not by any examina-
tion we could make, other than by the X-ray. If it is de-
flected somewhat to one side or the other, we will find an
enilargement that will enable us to detect its presence. There-
fore, I would advise, where it becomes importaint as to the
treatment of a delayed deciduous tooth, that an X-ray be
made in order that we may understand better the position
on the permanent tooth.
Growth of the Roots of the Permanent Teeth.
We will pass now to the consideration of the growth of
the roots of the permanent teeth, for we will yet consider the
patient a child, although they may have the adult teeth.
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