Dental aesthetics as an expression of culture and ritual.

Intentional mutilation or modifications to human teeth hold anthropological and social significance. Studying them helps to understand past and present human behaviour from a geographic, cultural, religious and aesthetic perspective. Presented herein is the case of the skull of a male aged 20-25 years from Madurai (Tamil Nadu, India) with aesthetic dental mutilation on the two upper central incisors, originating from the Skull Collection of the Museum of Forensic Anthropology, Paleopathology and Criminal Studies of the School of Legal Medicine of Madrid. The mutilation consists of both an alteration of the contour of the crown and the inclusion of decorative elements on the labial surface of both teeth. Performed in this study is a radiographic analysis of the dental modifications as well as a paleopathological study of the mutilated teeth.