Pre-industrial skeletal remains are often seen with more teeth than we might expect.
Here are the ways you lose a tooth:
1. Trauma, like a hit to the face, that knocks a tooth out.
2. Abrasion on the biting surfaces that wears teeth down to a stub over a lifetime.
3. An infectious disease that destroys the teeth (cavities).
4. An infectious disease that destroys the supporting bone around the teeth (periodontal disease).
What we are doing wrong:
1. Not wearing mouthguards to play sports/drive cars (think about hockey players who are missing teeth).
2. Living longer means more wear (also the position of the teeth changed in a softer, post-industrial diet).
3. Fermentable carbohydrates are eaten more frequently throughout the day. Bacteria that cause cavities, like streptococcus mutans, ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, dissolve the underlying surface of the tooth, and invade deeper into the tooth.
4. Periodontal disease typically starts to take its toll in the third decade of life. We live longer than our ancestors.
Here are the ways you lose a tooth: 1. Trauma, like a hit to the face, that knocks a tooth out. 2. Abrasion on the biting surfaces that wears teeth down to a stub over a lifetime. 3. An infectious disease that destroys the teeth (cavities). 4. An infectious disease that destroys the supporting bone around the teeth (periodontal disease).
What we are doing wrong: 1. Not wearing mouthguards to play sports/drive cars (think about hockey players who are missing teeth). 2. Living longer means more wear (also the position of the teeth changed in a softer, post-industrial diet). 3. Fermentable carbohydrates are eaten more frequently throughout the day. Bacteria that cause cavities, like streptococcus mutans, ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, dissolve the underlying surface of the tooth, and invade deeper into the tooth. 4. Periodontal disease typically starts to take its toll in the third decade of life. We live longer than our ancestors.