Dental caries and breastfeeding in early childhood in the late Medieval and Modern populations from Radom, Poland

Abstract

AbstractStudies of dental caries on the deciduous dentition can be a source of information about changes in diet, which can be correlated with the time of eruption of the deciduous and permanent teeth. In this respect, the moment of transition from the maternal diet (mother's milk) to solid food is particularly interesting. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the diet of children who inhabited Radom, Poland, in the late Medieval/early Modern (LMP, 14th–17th c.) and Modern (MP, 18th–19th c.) periods by applying odontological and physicochemical methods. We analyzed the dental remains of 104 nonadult individuals (1.0–2.5 years, 3.0–5.5 years, and 6.0–8.0 years), with a total of 1044 deciduous and 108 permanent teeth. The concentration of stable δ15N isotopes in collagen isolated from the femur bones was assessed in 63 individuals (27 children, 36 adults). The diagnosis of dental caries was carried out through visual, radiographic, and fluorescent techniques. Dental caries were recorded in 30% (68/224) of the deciduous teeth in the LMP and 39% (321/820) of the deciduous teeth in the MP. Dental caries were found more often in the two earliest age groups of children in the MP than in the LMP. Early childhood caries (ECC) were diagnosed in 18% of the deciduous dentition of children from the MP. Isotopic analyses showed that the start of weaning occurred in the MP group almost 4 months earlier than in the LMP group (1.1 years in LMP vs. 0.7 years in MP). The final weaning of children from maternal milk in the LMP group took place at 2.5 years of age, whereas in the MP group it took place at 3.2 years of age. The study shows that the period of feeding children exclusively with the mother's milk in the MP was shorter. This means a faster introduction of solid food products to the diet. This could explain the increase in dental caries in primary teeth.