Oral Health in Dental Anthropology Findings from Krapina Neanderthal Until the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Karijes, parodontne bolesti i okluzijske anomalije sa svojim komplikacijama tri su dominantna problema stomatološke prakse. Sva tri mogu se pratiti na lubanjama osoba koje su živjele u različitim razdobljima. U ovome istraživanju zabilježeni su nalazi na lubanjama krapinskoga neandertalca, zatim ljudi koji su živjeli u prvom, desetom i dvadesetom stoljeću. Lubanje krapinskoga neandertalca nalaze se u Geološko-paleontološkom muzeju u Zagrebu. Lubanje ljudi iz prvog i desetog stoljeća su u Zemaljskom muzeju u Sarajevu, a lubanje dvadesetoga stoljeća u Institutu za anatomiju Medicinskog fakulteta u Sarajevu. Na fragmentima lubanja krapinskoga neandertalca nije moguće egzaktno odrediti okluziju, ali stanje zubi i alveolarne kosti moguće je objektivno procjeniti za nalaze karijesa i parodontne bolesti. Zbog toga su istraživanja u sve četiri skupine usmjerena na karijes i parodontne bolesti. Stanje alveolarne kosti kvantificirano je prema TCH-indeksu (Tooth-Cervical-Hight indeks). Interesantno je da na 281 zubu krapinskoga neandertalca nema ni jednoga karijesa, a postoje resorptivne promjene infraiintrakoštanih džepova alveole. Prema tome, parodontna bolest starija je od karijesa. Incidencija karijesa na lubanjama prvog, deset i dvadesetog stoljeća kontinuirano progredira prema dvadesetom stoljeću.Carious lesions, periodontal disease and occlusal anomalies together with their complications represent three predominant problems in dental practice. All these findings have been evaluated on the sculls of persons who lived in various periods of time. The aim of this study was to determine findings on the sculls of Krapina Neanderthal people and also on people from the first, tenth and twentieth century. The sculls of Krapina Neanderthal people are stored in the Croatian Natural History Museum in Zagreb. The sculls from the people of the first and tenth century are stored in the Provincial Museum in Sarajevo and sculls from the twentieth century are stored in the Institute for Anatomy in the School of Medicine in Sarajevo. On the parts of the sculls of Krapina Neanderthal people occlusion could not be determined, but the status of teeth and alveolar bone was objectively evaluated with regard to the carious lesions and periodontal disease. Therefore, all the measurements in every group out of the total four, was performed with regard to the carious lesions and periodontal disease. Alveolar bone status was determined according to the TCH (Tooth-Cervical-Height Index). On the 281 Krapina Neanderthal teeth no carious lesions were found whereas resorptive changes in the infra and intraalveolar pockets were noticed. Therefore, periodontal disease has been present for longer than caries. The prevalence of carious lesions continously progresses from the first, through tenth untill the twentieth century