Dental Disease and Dietary Pattern in the Early Medieval Population from Bijelo Brdo - East Slavonia, Croatia

Abstract

Primarna svrha ovoga istraživanja jest raščlamba dentalnih bolesti u ranosrednjovjekovnoj populaciji iz Bijeloga Brda u Istočnoj Slavoniji te s pomoću nje rekonstrukcija načina prehrane. Okluzalno trošenje, karijes i antemortalni gubitak zuba analiziran je na trajnoj denticiji 81 lubanje ekshumirane iz ranosrednjovjekovnog groblja (10.-11. stoljeće) kod Bijeloga Brda. Nakon čišćenja lubanje su pohranjene u Arheološkom muzeju u Zagrebu. Ukupno je ispitano 979 trajnih zuba. Evidentiran je i računalski analiziran broj karioznih zuba i broj karioznih korijenskih površina. Ispitani zubi imali su srednje izraženo okluzalno trošenje. Ukupna prevalencija karijesa bila je 9,5%. Najčešće karijesom zahvaćeni zubi bili su molari, a zatim premolari. Najmanje zahvaćeni bili su očnjaci i sjekutići. S obzirom na činjenicu da je većina karioznih kaviteta zabilježena u interdentalnom prostoru, u blizini cementno-caklinskoga spojišta, možemo reći da se radi o primitivnom karijes- -obrascu. Skeletalni korijenski karijes indeks bio je 0,9. Zabilježena je prevalencija antemortalnoga gubitka zuba od 6,7%. Prosječaj broj zuba izgubljenih prije smrti bio je 1,22. Prvi kutnjak najčešči je izgubljeni zub. Umjereno okluzalno trošenje, nizak skeletalni korijenski karijes indeks i veća čestoća aproksimalnih karijesa u usporedbi s okluzalnima sugerira nam da konzumirana hrana nije bila izrazito tvrda, te da je sadržavala mnogo lakotopljivih sastojaka, čiji su ostatci lako ulazili u aproksimalne prostore blizu kontaktnih točaka. Ovi su podatci u skladu s arheološkim i povijesnim podatcima koji bjelobrdsku kulturu opisuju kao zemljoradničku s izrazito velikom konzumacijom žitarica.The purpose of this study was first to analyse dental disease in the early medieval population from Bijelo Brdo in East Slavonia, Croatia, and second to determine the dietary pattern with regard to dental diseases. Occlusal surface wear, caries and antemortem tooth loss were studied in the pemanent dentition of 81 skulls from an early medieval cemetery (10 - 11th century) from Bijelo Brdo. After cleaning, the material was stored in Archeological Museum in Zagreb. A total of 979 permanent teeth were examined. The number of carious teeth and number of root surfaces involved in caries were recorded for computer analysis. Examined teeth showed moderate occlusal surface wear. The overall caries prevalence was 9.5% of the present teeth. The teeth attacked by caries were chiefly molars, followed by premolars, with a low rate of attack in canines and incisors. A primitive pattern of caries was recorded, whereby most cavities ocurred in the interdental space, near the cemento-enamel junction. Skeletal root caries index (SRCI) was 0.9. Ante-mortem tooth loss was 6.7%. Average number of teeth lost before death was 1.22. The first molar was the most frequently lost tooth. Moderate occlusal surface wear, low SRCI and a pattern of caries involving approximal rather than occlusal surface suggest that consumed food was no so coarse and contained much soluble material., that its debris could enter the approximal area close to the contact point. These data are consistent with archeological and historical data wich characterize the Bijelo Brdo population as intensely agricultural with a high comsumption of cereals