The prevention of disease and the early recognition of physical and mental defects have long been the pride of pediatricians; the same should be true of the prevention of mental disease and the early recognition of dental defects. More and more parents are bringing their children to the physician with the request that routine physical examinations be made to see if the child is normal, and he then has an opportunity which may not be afforded the dentist until much later. Unfortunately, in the "complete" examination, the teeth are often overlooked. The responsibility for the prevention of dental disorders rests as much with the physician as with the dentist, and more especially with the pediatrician, who alone has ample opportunity to study the teeth of the child, and can often refer to the dentist children who might not otherwise be taken to him.
In the recognition of anomalous dentition, a