THE MYTH BUSTED
Here's a fact, it is extremely unusual for a man of the Somerton Man's estimated age to have lost so many teeth. How could that have happened?
In a recent post and based on the release of the new AI-based image of the Somerton Man, I seriously questioned the narrative that has been developed around the Somerton Man's teeth.
Specifically, the statements have been made by Professor Abbott that the Somerton Man has a condition known as 'ANODONTIA' and that the diagram of the man's teeth drawn by the pathologist Dr. Dwyer and produced in evidence at the original inquest, was 'Useless'.
Here's the diagram:
Here's the diagram:
Dr. Dwyer had carried out many autopsies in his role as Government Pathologist, he was a well experienced and respected man in his field. There can be little doubt that he would have had cause to examine teeth and perhaps even draw diagrams of teeth as part of his work. I would also think it highly likely that on occasion he would have called in expert advice as and when needed if he had noticed anything 'unusual' with regards to the teeth of any of the bodies that he had examined.
In evidence Dr. Dwyer had mentioned that anyone seeing the man laughing would have noticed the missing teeth.
Professor Abbott stated that the only missing teeth you would see would be the missing rear teeth when he laughed. Here's a photo of a man laughing:
Professor Abbott stated that the only missing teeth you would see would be the missing rear teeth when he laughed. Here's a photo of a man laughing:
Can you see the rear gums? Are there any teeth missing?
No, of course, you can't see the rear gums, from this sort of distance, to see them you would almost have to be looking down this throat.
But you can see the missing lateral incisor now, can't you? Yes.
I was asked by one commenter to find more images of people who had Anodontia, the short answer is that I have looked, and there are numerous images, I will upload them shortly. I will say that in no way do they support Professor Abbot's statements.
What is Anodontia anyway?
First, let's dispose of the related term, HYPODONTIA, that occurs when 1 to 6 teeth are missing, the Somerton Man had a total of 18 of his 32 teeth missing, definitely not HYPODONTIA.
A very good question, according to various resources, ANODONTIA is a hereditary condition. Here's the definition:
'Anodontia is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the congenital absence of all primary or permanent teeth. It is divided into two subsections, complete absence of teeth or only some absence of teeth. It is associated with the group of skin and nerve syndromes called the ectodermal dysplasias.'
The underlined sentence is important, it says that ANODONTIA is associated with a group of skin and nerve syndromes. There are other issues that appear with ANODONTIA. And here they arefrom the same article:
'Anodontia is an inherited genetic defect. The exact genes involved are unknown. However, Anodontia is usually associated with ectodermal dysplasia.
Ectodermal dysplasia is not one disorder but a group of closely related hereditary conditions that affect the hair, nails, skin, and sweat glands. Symptoms of these hereditary conditions include:
alopecia
lack of sweat glands
cleft lip or palate
missing fingernails
In rare cases, anodontia occurs without ectodermal dysplasia. This is likely due to an unknown genetic mutation.' https://www.healthline.com/health/anodontia#outlook
Notice the underlined issues? None of them are evidenced in the Somerton Man autopsy. In rare cases only are those symptoms missing. This was not mentioned by Professor Abbott in his claims.
It can be said that coincidentally, Professor Abbott's conclusions happily are in line with his thinking on the parentage of Robin Thompson.
The bottom line is that there is nothing in the evidence given by Dr. Dwyer that supports Professor Abbott's claims of Anodontia. To claim that Dr.Dwyers diagram is 'Useless' is totally incorrect and misleading.
Why do I say that? Because the real issue has been overlooked.
THE QUESTION THAT WAS NEVER ASKED
Of one thing there is no doubt, the Somerton Man had 18 teeth missing.
Why was that never raised as an issue? I am as guilty as anyone else, I have literally only considered it in the last week or so.
Here's a fact, it is extremely unusual for a man of the Somerton Man's estimated age to have lost so many teeth. How could that have happened?
I have done some research and there needs to be more. Here are some reasons for such significant loss of teeth:
Gingivitis.
A gum disease, commonly related to diet and records indicate that many POWs suffered from this issue which literally rotted the gums and teeth fell out. Commonly found in men who had been prisoners of war for an extended period. The same can be said of other Periodontal diseases.
Radiation Sickness Exposure to radioactive materials, an atomic reaction or explosion can cause radiation sickness. Symptoms include loss of hair and/or teeth with possible damage to the vital organs.
Chemical Warfare. Not widely discussed were the extensive experiments carried out by Porton Down in the UK during the early Cold War years. Servicemen were deliberately exposed to various chemical agents according to numerous sources. Were such experiments carried out in Australia? There are rumours but that is all.
Given Paul Lawson's most recent statement regarding the analysis of the hair samples he had kept, that showed the presence of Strontium 90, it is reasonable to conclude that Radiation sickness is a likely cause of the loss of teeth in the Somerton Man.
There being no evidence to support the claim of Anodontia, the MYTH IS BUSTED.
What are your thoughts?