Carrying out a study on dental morphology can be usually divided into two phases; the acquisition of data and the subsequent data analysis. The advent of computers has enabled the analysis of large data sets with sophisticated multivariate methods (e.g., Dryden and Mardia 1998, Marcus et al. 1996). While analytical methods have developed substantially, the morphometrical data types acquired from teeth has seen far fewer changes. Indeed, most analytical methods rely on measurements made from discernible landmarks (but see Valeri et al. 1998) and the measurements acquired depend on the hypothesis, technical possibilities, and the investigator’s preferences.
In this article we introduce a new approach to studying dental morphology that adds one step to the normal data acquisition, but enables an exploratory analysis of tooth morphology. By creating high-resolution digital representations of tooth shape we show how, in addition to traditional measurements, an investigator can explore tooth shape parameters using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. We then present a laser confocal microscopy technique to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) of mammalian tooth crowns. This method is particularly suitable for small teeth (smaller than 10 mm).