Periodontal disease and dental caries from Krapina neanderthal to contemporery man – skeletal studies

Abstract

The aim of this study was the quantification of alveolar bone resorption as well as the number and percentage of teeth with dental caries. Four samples of jaws and single teeth were studied from four time periods, i.e. from the Krapina Neanderthals (KN) who reportedly lived over 130,000 years ago, and groups of humans from the 1(st), 10(th) and 20(th) centuries. Resorption of the alveolar bone of the jaws was quantified by the tooth-cervical-height (TCH) index. Diagnosis of dental caries was made by inspection and with a dental probe. TCH-index was calculated for a total of 1097 teeth from 135 jaws. Decay was calculated for a total of 3579 teeth. Resorptive changes of the alveolar bone in KN and 1(st) century man were more pronounced on the vestibular surface than interdentally (p<0.05), while no significant difference could be confirmed for 10(th) and 20(th) century man (p=0.1). The number (percentage) of decayed teeth was 0 (0%, n=281 teeth) in KN, 15 (1.7%; n=860 teeth) in 1(st) century, 24 (3.4%; n=697 teeth) in 10(th) century, and 207 (11.9%, n=1741 teeth) in 20(th) century. On the basis of our results it may be postulated that in contemporary man in relation to KN, the accumulation of plaque pathogens in the interdental space is substantially greater than on the vestibular side. These findings have practical, educational and preventive value for oral hygiene improvement, especially of the interdental space, which should help decrease the prevalence of periodontal disease and dental caries, and improve oral as well as general health.