Teeth are the time capsules of the human body and serve as a marker of dental diseases, diets, and the oral hygiene of an individual. Teeth seem to be one of the most important found human remains in Archaeological sites and one of the most studied in Paleopathology. It is because of the fine preservation of teeth, in Archaeological sites, that we can study and depict the contributing factors that are the cause of dental diseases in prehistoric and modern times. In Paleopathology a mixture of factors like diets and oral hygiene can cause a series of different serious dental diseases. The introduction of Agriculture in prehistoric societies, a major change in diet within certain populations around the world, sheds light on the rising and high frequencies seen of dental diseases; the most prevalent being dental Caries that could be linked to dental Abscesses, Periodontal disease, Ante-mortem tooth loss, and the dental disease seen in children Localized Hypoplastic Enamel Defects (LHPC). In addition, diseases like dental Attrition due to Erosion/Abrasion wear and dental Calculus also affect these societies.
The introduction of agriculture negatively affects the dental health in prehistoric population due to mixtures of high carbohydrates (sucrose and starch) intake along with little to absence of oral hygiene causing plaque build up producing bacteria. Evidence shows that the exposure of foods like maize and cane sugar, which are high in sucrose content, oral hygiene, the introduction of other agriculture/agricultural foods and nutrients are the cause of rising dental diseases like caries. As stated by Roberts and Manchester (2005:65) all of those factors must be considered, as there is not a specific factor that is recognized as t...
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...an body and can reveal any dental disease from the time someone was a kid, like enamel hypoplasia due to stress or malnutrition. Teeth can also reveal someone’s diet, oral hygiene, and occupancy, whether its agriculture or hunter-gatherer. The introduction of agriculture has had a few positive effects on humans, however the majority of effects are negative. The development of dental diseases like caries and calculus are due to the introduction of agriculture and poor oral hygiene. The introduction of carbohydrates like sucrose and starch, acidic food, and protein has negatively impacted the dental health of populations worldwide. Not only did it affect adults, but it also affected children. Till this day one must monitor their food intake, oral hygiene and continue to have yearly check up with a dentist in order to not suffer from these serious dental pathologies.
The skeleton had a hideous impact to the community and was predicted by local investigators to be reasonably modern. To get better understanding and avoid confusion, a bone sample was sent to a laboratory in the USA for investigation and analysation using series of scientific
When you are practicing good dental hygiene, you will surely be in a much better oral health. The problem is that a lot of us neglect the proper taking care of our teeth and gum. This is when most oral diseases start and also the reason why the dental health category is a multi-million, if not a multi-billion, dollar industry.
Majungatholus atopus roamed the plains of northwestern Madagascar about 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous (Perkins, 2003; Rogers et al, 2003). The discovery of 21 tooth-marked elements originating from two Majungatholus atopus individuals suggests evidence that the dinosaur supplemented its diet by feeding on its own dead or hunting them (Rogers et al, 2003). It cannot be confirmed whether they were purely scavengers, hunters, or both. Scientists are certain that the marks are not the doing of any other predator because the teeth marks are not consistent with any other known species that lived in the area. Only one other theropod that inhabited the area during the time Majungatholus atopus did, Masiakasaurus knopfleri, had teeth and bite marks too small to have caused these markings. Two large crocodile species also shared the same ecosystem but their teeth were “too blunt and too irregularly spaced to have produced the narrow grooves found on the Majungatholus bones”(Perkins, 2003). The tooth marks on at least nine Majungatholus elements attest to intertooth spacing in the perpetrators jaw and denticle drag patterns consistent enough to make a compelling case for Majungatholus feeding on other Majungatholus (Rogers et al, 2003).
Kim Oakberg Allegretto. "The Moatfield ossuary: isotopic dietary analysis of an Iroquoian community, using dental tissue." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. 22. (2003): 245-261. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. .
CONCLUSION “There are just too many variables,” said Dr. C. Michael Bowers, author of “Forensics Dental Evidence: An Investigator’s Handbook,” (Bowers, 2004.)
Lukacs, John R. "Fertility and Agriculture Accentuate Sex Differences in Dental Caries Rates." Current Anthropology 1 Oct. 2008: 901-14. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 May 2011. .
Children are often sweet and adorable, but many times they may be eating too many sweets. According to the Channel Four News, it has been shown that the number one disease in children is the reoccurrence of caries, also known as cavities. Could it be too many sweets or could it be the lack of flossing and brushing teeth? For instance, many children go to bed or wake up without brushing their teeth and go throughout the day eating all sorts of food and candy. The result of eating and not brushing could lead to plaque build up and decaying of teeth. This leaves a child extremely unhappy and in excruciating pain. So who is going to fix this pain? Who is going to help prevent decay in millions of people’s mouths? Today, the world is lucky to have a well-studied field of dentistry.. Dentistry has much history, various specialties, advancements, and an irresistible salary.
It is a vital role of a dentist to prevent the dental problems in order to decrease the number of oral disease.
Knowing the origins of career is key to understanding the importance of why it began. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), dentistry's ancient origins began in 500 B.C. with the belief of "tooth worms as the cause of teeth decay." Later down the road in 1700 – 1550 B.C., an Egyptian text reveals toothache remedies. Oral cavity issues were provident in a very early time of humanity. As a result, oral cavity issues continued therefore so did research which inspired Hippocrates and Aristotle to write
This essay explores the advantages of following a Paleolithic type diet. That is, to eat the foods our bodies have been ingesting and evolving on over the last 10 million years. Today’s highly refined grain, sugar, and carbohydrate based diet has been introduced into our lives only in the last .4% of the time we have walked upright on this planet. This drastic shift in our nutritional intake is the basis of many new age diseases of modern man.
It seems that the Nacirema have related the condition of their mouth to diseases of the teeth, gums, jaws, and social relations of friends and lovers. Oral and moral characteristics relate to both children and adults. I believe the private m...
Ungar received his Ph.D. in Anthropological Sciences from Stony Brook University. He now serves as Distinguished Professor and Chair of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas. In this book, Ungar discusses the evolution of hominin diets, the importance of diet in order to understand the ecology and evolution of distant ancestors and their relatives, the hominin fossil record, dental morphology, mandibular biomechanics, and the paleontological evidence for the evolution of human diet. This book was published in 2007, so it is fairly recent. In is not biased because, for the most part, it states different methods used to examine fossilized teeth and the evidence found from these methods.
Welsh, Jennifer. "Fossil Teeth Show Mammals Thrived Before Dinos Died." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
According to The Society for American Archaeology, the definition of Archaeology is, “to obtain a chronology of the past, a sequence of events and dates that, in a sense, is a backward extension of history.” The study of ancient civilizations and archaeology is rather ambiguous due to the primitive nature of the time period. With little imagery and even less textual evidence, professionals in the field must work diligently when studying their subjects. Naturally, archaeologists cannot see or communicate with those whom they are studying, so they must be extraordinarily meticulous when analyzing past cultures. This relates to all aspects of the ancient world including; foods, raw materials, artifacts, agriculture, art work and pottery. All of these elements can collectively provide new and innovative information to curious archaeologists who may wish to gain a better understanding of those who came before us. This information is equally beneficial for both historians and archaeologists who plan to compare the histories of societies from all around the world. In the world of archaeology, archaeologists strive to better explain human behavior by analyzing our past. Therefore, the study of archaeology is a key element in understanding a time before our own.
The hunter-gatherer diet had great variation of nutrients with increased amounts of animal products and also plant foods. As they transitioned to agriculture about 10,000 years ago, the great variety of foods was impossible to maintain. Instead, humans’ diet was primarily made of larger quantities of the fewer plants they domesticated, such as rice, wheat, and corn. As dietary diversity was in decline, the energy expenditure of growing crops was higher, especially in certain seasons. Nutritional deficiencies started to show up in populations where diet was based on one or two staples of food. Ancient bones show a variety of information about how nutritional status of humans was affected by the transition to agriculture. Claire Cassidy’s comparison between Indian Knoll hunter-gatherer and Hardin Village skeletons shows that tooth decay and porotic hyperostosis are more prevalent in humans who had agricultural diets (as cited in Wiley & Allen, 2013, p.90). Also, growth disruption is more severe and occurred for a longer period of time in the groups that relied on domesticating and growing their