Part 6: All I Want For Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth

Teeth aren't as unique to a person compare to fingerprinst, but dental evidence can be crucial in establishing a person's identity. The size of teeth indicates to a person's approximate age because of how fast teeth grow -- about four micrometers a day.

The skull has 8 visible and countable alveolar processes of the mandibular arch in each quadrant. Only in an adult dentition, there are 8 teeth in each quadrant, whilst in a child, there would only be 4. Hence, it's a no brainer that...

 IT BELONGED TO HERMAN HARTONO! 
- or his son.
 Why? But before that, picture 2.

 

 

 

These 3 different views of the teeth  show the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. How do we know? Here's why:

1. Primary mandibular first molar

• Largest posterior teeth
• It has 4 cusps 
• Presence of transverse ridge joining mesiolingual and distobuccal cusp 

2. Primary mandibular second molar

• Resembles permanent mandibular first molar but smaller
• It has 5 cusps :3 buccal -mesiobuccal, distobuccal, distal and  2 lingual cusps

3. Third mandibular molar

• Smallest among the tree molars

And since 3rd molars are only present in adults, chances are this jaw also could've belonged to the once living Herman Hartono or his son. 

Primary mandibular canine

• Has sharp cusp tips
• The mesial slope is shorter than the distal slope of the tooth

Anya is the only child filed missing. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the jaw in the picture3 belonged to her. 

Since there are no other child skull fragments found, it can be also assumed that Adi Hartono is aged 17 years of age or more since the 3rd molar is present in both adult dentition in picture 1 & 2. However, at this point, whether it belonged to the father or son, is still unclear.

Further reading:

Fig.- Lower jaw of child and adult, showing the mental foramen.

The position of the mental foramen, normally between the two bicuspids (beneath the second in the negro - Humphry), varies in its vertical location between the alveolar border and lower edge of the body, according to age. In infancy it is low down, in young adults it is midway, and in old people it is high up.

In infancy the teeth, not having erupted, are contained in the jaw, the alveolar portion is, therefore, large. The basal portion, on the contrary, is quite small, serving merely as a narrow shelf on which the unerupted teeth lie. As the mandibular nerve runs beneath the teeth, the mental foramen is of necessity comparatively low. At birth the condyle is about level with the upper portion of the symphysis, and the body forms with the ramus an angle of 175 degrees. At the end of the fourth year the angle has decreased to about 140 degrees. By adult age the angle has decreased to about 115 degrees, and as the teeth are lost the angle gradually increases until it again reaches 140 degrees.

As we can see from the evidence provided, the mandible is obviously smaller compared to a normal adult's mandible size. Moreover, the angle of the ramus and the body of the mandible is more oblique than the angle seen in adult's mandible and thus it indicates that the lower jaw above belong to a child.

In fact,the permanent canine begins to erupt from age 9-10 years old. It is seen that the permanent canine in this child' jaw (clue from master csi part2) is either fully or near fully erupted. And since the twin girls are aged 9 years old, their canine couldn't have been in the end stage of eruption. Although it is not known the age, but it is clear as day that this jaw! had belonged to Adi Hartono.

 


                                                                              THE END.