Cheekless and lipless dinosaurs -- a haven for germs?

["Ralph Miller III" <gbabcock@best.com>]

I recently pondered the problem of lipless theropods being susceptible to
air-to-mouth microbe invasion.  I believe that my consideration of this
issue arose from a comment by Stephen Czerkas at his presentation on
"Reconstructing Dinosaurs" given at the Kimball Art Center in Park City,
Utah on January 29, 1994.  But I just received an off-line post from a
physician who questioned this being a problem.  It would also seem that
Czerkas himself has modified his view that lips are necessary, as he
presented a talk at the last SVP which brings into question the correctness
of applying cheeks and lips to ornithischians.  

So here goes: do cheekless and lipless _terrestrial_ animals have a
hygienic selection pressure for lips or cheeks, or is this no problem?  Is
there a doctor in the house?

I have been a mouth breather myself for much of my life, and the main
warning I've received from my dentist is that this increases the build-up
of plaque and the incidence of gum disease and tooth decay.  Then again,
the carrion-eating theropods (notice that I did not say "exclusively
carrion-eating") probably didn't brush, floss, or use an antibacterial
mouthwash...  Of course, vultures do just fine, in spite of their (how to
put it?) less-than-fastidious habits. 

-- Ralph Miller III     gbabcock@best.com

I suppose that Mr. Czerkas will now have to grind off the cheeks from his
sculptures and extend the beaks.