Tooth Wear Recording

This form is launched if a tooth element has been selected for caprines, cattle or pigs (see list for full details).

Bone ID
As with many other forms, the bone ID field is transferred automatically from the main recording form and cannot be altered by the user.

Canine
This field is used to record the sex of the specimen, particularly for pigs, as this is one of the few elements that can be sexed with any degree of certainty without the use of indices and statistics. If the species is equine, this field is used to record the presence or absence of the canine. Only 'm', 'f', 'p' or 'a' (not capital specific) may be recorded in this field.

Dp4, P4, M1, M2, M1/M2 and M3
These six fields all operate in the same way. The user has several options. First of all, they can use the To Diagrams buttons to launch a variety of forms that only contain buttons displaying the various tooth wear stages relevant to that species and element.

The image to the right is an example of one such tooth wear form, in this case a pig M3. By clicking on one of the buttons, the user immediately records that wear stage, and at the same time that form is closed. This makes recording quick and efficient.

Wear stage images are based on Grant for cattle and pigs (1982), and Payne for sheep/goats (1973, 1987).

Secondly, if a user knows the wear stages codes, they are welcome to type in the values themselves, without using the diagrams.

Thirdly, each of these fields also lists values in a combo box; the values are the same for each tooth. Contained in this list are wear stages that do not have associated images, such as 'broken', or 'visible in crypt'. Users can either type in these values, or select them from the list. The customise form can be used to augment these values.

TPOC General Age
This field is used to record the general age of the specimen (up to 20 characters in length), following O'Connor (1989).

Payne/Grant Stage
This field is primarily used to record Payne general age stages for sheep and goats, although it could also be used to record Grant's mandible wear stage (MWS), or individual scores that make up the MWS. Note should be made if this field is used abnormally (if, for example, used for record a different tooth wear stage system to those used in the York System). Users can record any value up to 20 characters in length.

Comments
This field can be used to record any additional observations about tooth wear stages. If the user requires additional space, a scroll bar will appear on the right side of the field.

Finally, users have the option to start a new record using the New Record button, in order to create multiple records. This is preferred over the use of the navigation buttons at the bottom of the form, as they will not copy over the bone ID number. Users can also Delete unwanted records, or Close the form.