A toothless future? What anthropological studies may tell us about generations to come

Abstract

Since teeth are the most preserved skeletal remains found in fossils, they can provide an excellent historical record about the adaptive changes that have taken place in the orthognathic complex of modern-day Homo sapiens, as well as the ways by which these evolutionary modifications have affected overall health and lifestyle through time. The study of ancestral dietary progression from trees to grasses and plains as projected through carbon dating has made possible much of today's enlightenment as to the adaptive physiologic nature that has taken place within the species. This understanding, in tandem with the observed morphological changes which have occurred in the anatomy of the teeth and the bony contours and muscle attachments of the skull and jaws in which they are housed, has elucidated present-day scientists as to the means by which the human orthognathic complex was developed, and the ways by which this likely affected overall health and lifestyle over the past millennia. Extrapolation from our current understanding of phylogenetic cause and effect as gleaned from studies of fossilized teeth and jaws to date may enable us to propose potential future anthropological dynamics and adaptations as man becomes ever more modern.