Dental attrition in a South Indian skull

The skull of a twentieth-century man presented by chance and was recognised as an example of attritional occlusion. It was photographed and x-rayed and seemed to be a worthy supplement to Begg’s classic work. It demonstrates severe loss of tooth structure from attrition, both occlusally and interproximally, resulting in reduction of tooth width and height. Interproximal loss of tooth substance results in a mesial inclination of the posterior teeth. ‘X-occlusion’ is found to be functional in origin, rather than hereditary, and caused by the reverse bucco-lingual obliquity of the occlusal plane. The arches accommodate all the teeth, including the third molars, without crowding or protrusion. A study of this case sheds additional light on the causes of Modern Man’s anomalous occlusion. Relevance to orthodontic analysis and treatment is noted.