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Crittenden AN, Sorrentino J, Moonie SA, Peterson M, Mabulla A, Ungar PS. Oral health in transition: The Hadza foragers of Tanzania. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172197. [PMID: 28296885 PMCID: PMC5351833 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Conventional wisdom holds that a decline in oral health accompanies the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, given increased consumption of carbohydrates. This widely touted example of the mismatch between our biology and modern lifestyle has been intuited largely from the bioarchaeological record of the Neolithic Revolution in the New World. Recent studies of other populations have, however, challenged the universality of this assertion. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of oral health among a living population in transition from the bush to village life, the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania, to test the hypothesis that the shift from foraging to farming, or agricultural intensification, inevitably leads to increased periodontal disease, caries, and orthodontic disorders. Our results showed that women living in villages consuming a mostly agricultural diet exhibited more caries and periodontal disease than those living in the bush consuming a mostly wild-food diet. Furthermore, men living in the bush consuming mostly a wild-food diet had more than those living in the village consuming a mostly agricultural diet. These findings are explained by the high incidence of maize consumption in village settings, along with previously recognized variation in rate of caries between men and women. The unexpected discovery of high caries incidences for men in the bush is likely explained by heavy reliance on honey, and perhaps differential access to tobacco and marijuana. These data support the notions that mechanisms of cariogenesis are multifactorial and that the relationships between oral health and the shift from a predominantly wild-food diet to one dominated by cultigens are nuanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa N. Crittenden
- Metabolism, Anthropometry, and Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
| | - John Sorrentino
- D.M.D. Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, New York, United States of America
| | - Sheniz A. Moonie
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
| | | | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Peter S. Ungar
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Botha D, Steyn M. Dental health of the late 19th and early 20th century Khoesan. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2015; 66:187-202. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Accepted: 02/13/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Willis A, Oxenham MF. The neolithic demographic transition and oral health: The Southeast Asian experience. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 152:197-208. [PMID: 24000119 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2012] [Accepted: 06/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present new oral health data from Neolithic An Son, southern Vietnam, in the context of (1) a reassessment of published data on other Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age Southeast Asian dental series, and (2) predictions of the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT). To this end, frequencies for three oral conditions (caries, antemortem tooth loss, and alveolar lesions) were investigated for seven Southeast Asian adult dental series from Thailand and Vietnam with respect to time period, age-at-death and sex. A clear pattern of elevated rates for oral disease in the Neolithic followed by a marked improvement in oral health during the Bronze and Iron Ages was observed. Moreover, rates of caries and antemortem tooth loss for females were almost without exception higher than that for males in all samples. The consensus view among Southeast Asian bioarchaeologists that oral health did not decline with the adoption/intensification of agriculture in Southeast Asia, can no longer be supported. In light of evidence for (1) the low cariogenicity of rice; (2) the physiological predisposition of females (particularly when pregnant) to poorer oral health; and (3) health predictions of the NDT model with respect to elevated levels of fertility, the most plausible chief explanation for the observed patterns in oral health in Southeast Asia is increased levels of fertility during the Neolithic, followed by a decline in fertility during the subsequent Bronze and Iron Ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Willis
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
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Otani N, Hamasaki T, Soh I, Yoshida A, Awano S, Ansai T, Hanada N, Miyazaki H, Takehara T. Relationship between root caries and alveolar bone loss in the first wet-rice agriculturalists of the Yayoi period in Japan. Arch Oral Biol 2008; 54:192-200. [PMID: 18976743 DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2008.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2008] [Revised: 09/01/2008] [Accepted: 09/21/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The people of the Yayoi period (5th C b.c.-3rd C a.d.), who were the first wet-rice agriculturalists in ancient Japan, had carious lesions that were most frequently located on the root surfaces of their teeth. Root surface exposure is a prerequisite for this type of decay, and alveolar bone loss is the main cause of such exposure. Therefore, we identify the factors associated with root caries, and examine the relationship between root caries and alveolar bone loss in the people of the Yayoi period. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was performed using 263 sets of ancient skeletal remains that are believed to be from the Yayoi period and that were excavated at 49 archaeological sites in western Japan. Using 5010 teeth found among the remains, we analysed the relationship between the prevalence of root caries and the cemento-enamel junction-alveolar crest (CEJ-AC) distance. RESULTS The prevalence of root caries and the mean number of teeth with root caries per person were significantly correlated with age, the presence of coronal caries and the mean CEJ-AC distance per person. We also found that as the mean CEJ-AC distance per tooth surface increased, the percentage of the root surface affected by caries increased. Moreover, after excluding the lingual (palatal) side, the mean CEJ-AC distance per surface was significantly greater for those tooth surfaces with root caries. CONCLUSION We present the first evidence that the occurrence of root caries correlated with the CEJ-AC distance in the Yayoi people of Japan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuko Otani
- Division of Community Oral Health Science, Department of Health Promotion, Kyushu Dental College, Japan
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Slaus M, Pećina-Slaus N, Brkić H. Life stress on the Roman limes in continental Croatia. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2004; 54:240-63. [PMID: 15216669 DOI: 10.1078/0018-442x-00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to analyze and compare the demographic profiles and disease frequencies between a skeletal series from Zmajevac, a settlement on the Danubian limes, and a composite "non-limes" skeletal series consisting of human osteological remains from three large urban settlements to the west of the limes; roman Mursa (modern Osijek), Cibalae (Vinkovci) and Certissia (Strbinci). To determine if life stresses were different in settlements on the limes the age and sex distribution in Zmajevac was compared to the composite "non-limes" series. All skeletons were also analyzed for the presence of dental pathology, dental enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, trauma, and physical stress. Data collected from the skeletal series show that, with the exception of some indicators of physical stress, no significant differences in quality of life is evident. Both series are characterized by an under-representation of subadults from the youngest age category and by similar average adult male and female ages at death. In Zmajevac the average ages at death for adult males and females were 40.0 and 39.0 years respectively, in the composite "non-limes" series 37.4 years for both males and females. The frequencies of dental disease, subadult stress indicators, and trauma are similar in both series. The only consistent difference between the two series is noted in the frequencies of skeletal markers of physical stress, in particular the frequencies of vertebral osteoarthritis and Schmorl's defects. Total male and total female vertebral osteoarthritis frequencies in the two series are significantly different, as is the difference in total male frequencies of Schmorl's defects. Young adult males in the Zmajevac series seem to have been experiencing particularly heavy physical strain on the vertebral column. They exhibit significantly higher frequencies of both vertebral osteoarthritis and Schmorl's defects than young adult males from the composite non-limes series.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Slaus
- Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb.
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Stoner KE. Dental pathology in Pongo satyrus borneensis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1995; 98:307-21. [PMID: 8572155 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330980305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The Selenka orangutan collection obtained from 1892 to 1896 from wild-shot specimens in West Borneo, provides an excellent opportunity to examine dental pathology in free-ranging primates. Two hundred and twenty-three skulls from this collection were analyzed for dental conditions, including carious lesions, local infections (infra-alveolar and periapical osseous defects), horizontal bone loss, and premortem tooth loss. Specimens were sexed, divided into three broad age groups, and compared to ascertain sex-related or age-related differences in occurrence of dental pathology. None of the subadults displays any evidence of dental disease. One individual (2%) in the young adult group has a periapical osseous defect and evidence of horizontal bone loss, and another (2%) has two adjacent interproximal carious lesions. The old adults have a much higher prevalence of individuals afflicted with dental pathologies, including 6% carious lesions, 26% local infections, 23% horizontal bone loss, and 3% premortem tooth loss. The differences between the young and old adults in number of individuals afflicted with dental pathologies is statistically significant for local infections and horizontal bone loss. When compared by sex, the old adult group reveals that females have a higher occurrence of dental pathologies than males in all types of lesions recorded and these differences are statistically significant for local infections and horizontal bone loss. Considering the importance diet plays in the development of dental disease, it is suggested that ecological separation of the sexes, with the subsequent dietary differences, could be an important factor determining the higher prevalence of dental lesions observed in female orangutans. Additionally, the importance of local ecological factors, which may affect dietary patterns, are recognized as a potential source of variation in dental pathologies among different samples of orangutans.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Stoner
- Department of Systematics and Ecology, University of Kansas, Lawrence 66045-2454, USA
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Phillips-Conroy JE, Hildebolt CF, Altmann J, Jolly CJ, Muruthi P. Periodontal health in free-ranging baboons of Ethiopia and Kenya. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1993; 90:359-71. [PMID: 8460659 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330900310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Frontal and lateral intraoral photographs of 19 baboons from the Awash National Park, Ethiopia and 37 baboons from Amboseli National Park, Kenya, were used to assess periodontal health. The Awash baboons, and two groups (Alto's and Hook's) at Amboseli, fed entirely from natural sources, but baboons from the third Amboseli group (Lodge) fed largely on food refuse from one of the park's lodges. Juveniles and adults were evaluated separately. Intraoral photographs were seriated based on visual appraisals of periodontal health. In both age groups, the best periodontal health was seen in Awash animals; Alto's and Hook's animals were intermediate, and the poorest health was seen in the Lodge sample. The periodontal health decreased with age in adult baboons, as reported in humans. Geochemistry, genetics, age, and diet (particularly variations in bacterial flora) were considered as factors contributing to the intergroup differences. Although it is not possible at present to exclude any of these as a contributing cause, we consider that diet in the broad sense (including food, water, and contamination by oral bacteria of human origin) probably plays a major role.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Phillips-Conroy
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
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Lukacs JR. Dental paleopathology and agricultural intensification in south Asia: new evidence from Bronze Age Harappa. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1992; 87:133-50. [PMID: 1543240 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330870202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Patterns of dental disease among Bronze Age people of the Indus Valley Civilization are currently based on early and incomplete reports by non-specialists. This deficiency precludes accurate diachronic analysis of dental disease and its relationship with increasing agriculturalism in the Indian subcontinent. The objective of this paper is to document prevalence of dental disease at Harappa (2500-2000 B.C.), Punjab Province, Pakistan, comparatively evaluate the Harappan dental pathology profile, and use these data to assess theories regarding the dental health consequences of increasingly intensive agricultural dependence. Pathological conditions of the dentition included in the study are abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss (AMTL), calculus, caries, hypoplasia, hypercementosis, pulp chamber exposure, and alveolar resorption. The Harappan dentition exhibits a dental pathology profile typical of a population whose subsistence base is agriculture. Dental caries at Harappa are present in 6.8% (n = 751) of the teeth and 43.6% (n = 39) of the more completely preserved dental specimens. The use of a caries correction factor is recommended to permit an estimate of caries induced AMTL in calculating the caries prevalence. All dental lesions are present at higher rates in this Harappan study sample than were reported in previous investigations, and important differences in prevalence of dental disease occur between the genders. Prevalence of dental disease increases in the greater Indus Valley as subsistence becomes more intensive and as food preparation and storage technology becomes more efficient.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Lukacs
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene 97403
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Hildebolt CF, Elvin-Lewis M, Molnar S, McKee JK, Perkins MD, Young KL. Caries prevalences among geochemical regions of Missouri. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1989; 78:79-92. [PMID: 2929737 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330780109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Our objectives were to determine how the prevalences of caries in elementary school children vary between geochemically defined regions of the state of Missouri and to compare this variation with that found for prehistoric Missouri inhabitants (Hildebolt et al.: Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 75:1-14, 1988). Caries data on 6,584 school children were used in the study of second and sixth graders drinking optimally and suboptimally fluoridated water. Geochemical regions were based on maps recently published by the United States Geological Survey. Differences in mean caries scores and proportions of children with caries were tested by analysis of covariance, analysis of variance, Student t, and chi-squared tests. We found that caries prevalences do vary between the geochemical regions of the state. In the total sample, however, there were no significant differences between those children drinking optimally fluoridated water and those drinking suboptimally fluoridated water. We conclude that there is variation in caries rates among geochemically defined regions of the state and that geochemical factors associated with young parent materials may be antagonizing the action of fluoride.
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Affiliation(s)
- C F Hildebolt
- Department of Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
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