⬅ George W. Bush: 1973 Dental Examination

During the 2004 presidential campaign the White House released notes made during a dental examination of Bush in 1973. The examination was performed at an Air National Guard base in Alabama. The released notes showed extensive dental work and no wisdom teeth. SEE BELOW

Since at least the 1950s military dentists have been using a pictorial system to record the condition of their patients' teeth.

The image below is the result of the dental examination made by Dr. J. Andrew Harris on 1Lt George W. Bush on January 6, 1973 in Alabama:

Dr. Dwight Carvalho graciously provides the following explanation of the notations made for Bush's upper teeth:

Tooth #3 is missing, but the space is filled by a gold-alloy false tooth welded to adjacent teeth and suspended above the gum tissue. Thus, teeth #2, #3, and #4 most likely constitute a fixed partial denture, i.e. a bridge. In more technical terms, tooth #3 is a pontic welded to the interproximal contacts of teeth #2 and #4.

Tooth #14 is probably a three-quarters crown, of gold alloy. It may be an on-lay or large amalgam restoration. It is documented by Dr. Harris as if it were a crown.

The state of the lower teeth is shown in this image:

Although this may seem like a great deal of dental work to find in the mouth of a 26 year old, both Dr. Harris 1 and Dr. Carvalho state there is nothing unusual about these results.

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For our sight-impaired readers, here is the text of the annotations made above:

Upper Dentition, right-to-left Tooth #1 - Absent wisdom tooth Tooth #2 - Gold crown Tooth #3 - Artificial tooth, part of a bridge. See above. Tooth #4 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #5 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #6 - Normal Tooth #7 - Normal Tooth #8 - Normal Tooth #9 - Normal Tooth #10 - Normal Tooth #11 - Normal Tooth #12 - Normal Tooth #13 - Normal Tooth #14 - Probably a three-quarters gold crown. See above. Tooth #15 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #16 - Absent wisdom tooth

Lower Dentition, left-to-right Tooth #17 - Absent wisdom tooth Tooth #18 - Normal Tooth #19 - Gold on-lay Tooth #20 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #21 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #22 - Normal Tooth #23 - Normal Tooth #24 - Normal Tooth #25 - Normal Tooth #26 - Normal Tooth #27 - Normal Tooth #28 - Normal Tooth #29 - Gold filling Tooth #30 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #31 - Silver-colored filling Tooth #32 - Absent wisdom tooth