Dental health of elderly confederate veterans: Evidence from the Texas State Cemetery

Wols, Helen Danzeiser; Baker, Joan E.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.10334

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…While it is consistent with the low rate of caries and the low to moderate rate of tooth wear recorded in the sample, it may also reflect the extraction of teeth prior to pulp exposure and infection, the loss of abscessed teeth and the subsequent remodelling of the alveolar bone long before death, and/or the inability to observe abscesses that have not yet penetrated the alveolar bone (Hillson, 2000;Wols & Baker, 2004). The significantly higher frequency of abscesses by tooth socket in older individuals compared with younger ones is mirrored in other archaeological samples, and reflects the higher rate of caries and tooth wear typically seen in this age group.…”

Section: Dental Abscessesmentioning

confidence: 73%

Dental pathology and diet at Apollonia, a Greek colony on the Black Sea

Keenleyside

2007

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Dental pathology has the potential to provide insight into the composition of the diet and to reveal dietary differences based on age, sex and social status. Human skeletal remains from the Greek colonial site of Apollonia (5 th to 2 nd centuries BC) on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria were analysed for various forms of dental pathology in order to: assess the prevalence of dental disease in the population; compare the dental pathology data from Apollonia with dietary data derived from ancient literary texts and from previous stable isotopic analysis of the colonists' remains; explore variations in dental disease with respect to age and sex; and compare the prevalence of dental pathology in the Apollonians with that of other Greek populations. The composition of the diet, as indicated by the dental pathology data, is consistent with the stable isotopic evidence from Apollonia and with the ancient literary texts, both of which indicate the consumption of a relatively soft, high carbohydrate diet. The higher frequency of dental caries, abscesses, calculus, and antemortem tooth loss in older adults compared with younger ones reflects the age-progressive nature of these conditions. The lack of significant sex differences in caries, abscesses, calculus and tooth loss corresponds with the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data derived from bone collagen, which indicate no significant sex differences in the consumption of dietary protein. In contrast, these findings conflict with the ancient literary texts, which refer to distinct dietary differences between males and females, and with the stable carbon isotopic values derived from bone carbonate, which indicate sex differences with respect to the overall diet. Despite the lack of marked sex differences in dental pathology, overall trends point to subtle dietary differences between males and females. A greater degree of tooth wear in males also hints at possible sex differences in the use of the teeth as tools.

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Section: Dental Abscessesmentioning

confidence: 73%

Dental pathology and diet at Apollonia, a Greek colony on the Black Sea

Keenleyside

2007

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…Many biological anthropologists are interested in dental and oral health (from here subsumed under the phrase ''oral health'') per se and how they might reflect more general levels of health. Of particular interest to anthropologists are the ways in which oral health varies within a population according to sex, age, and social status, how diet affects oral health, and how oral health has varied over time in human populations Corbett, 1971, 1973;Corbett and Moore, 1976;Cohen and Armelagos, 1984;Goodman et al, 1984Goodman et al, , 1987Hodges, 1987;Kerr, 1991;Sledzik and Moore-Jansen, 1991;Beckett and Lovell, 1994;Danforth et al, 1994;Sutter, 1995;Lukacs, 1996;Sakashita et al, 1997;Danforth, 1999;Scaronlaus, 2000;Robb et al, 2001;Schollmeyer and Ii, 2004;Wols and Baker, 2004;Eshed et al, 2006;Lukacs and Largaespada, 2006;Oxenham and Tayles, 2006;Oztunc et al, 2006;Phillips, 2006;Boldsen, 2007;Lieverse et al, 2007;Paine et al, 2007;e.g., Starling and Stock, 2007;Temple and Larsen, 2007;Keenleyside, 2008;Rose and Vieira, 2008;Watson, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

Oral health and frailty in the medieval English cemetery of St Mary Graces

DeWitte

Bekvalac

2009

American J Phys Anthropol

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The analysis of oral pathologies is routinely a part of bioarchaeological and paleopathological investigations. Oral health, while certainly interesting by itself, is also potentially informative about general or systemic health. Numerous studies within modern populations have shown associations between oral pathologies and other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and pulmonary infections. This paper addresses the question of how oral health was associated with general health in past populations by examining the relationship between two oral pathologies (periodontal disease and dental caries) and the risk of mortality in a cemetery sample from medieval England. The effects of periodontitis and dental caries on risk of death were assessed using a sample of 190 individuals from the St. Mary Graces, London cemetery dating to approximately A.D. 1350–1538. The results suggest that the oral pathologies are associated with elevated risks of mortality in the St. Mary Graces cemetery, such that individuals with periodontitis and dental caries were more likely to die than their peers without such pathologies. The results shown here suggest that these oral pathologies can be used as informative indicators of general health in past populations.

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“…According to the literature, wartime diet relied heavily on carbohydrates such as bread, biscuits, flour and grouts (Pugačiauskas, 2004;Wols & Baker, 2004). Meat was included in the diet, but was served in low quantities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A list of knapsack contents of a French fusilier included three different brushes, but not one toothbrush (Magueron, 1897(Magueron, -1906. Medical dental care was provided, but only in cases of severe pain, and usually consisted of pulling out decayed teeth (Wols & Baker, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental status of Napoleon's Great Army's (1812) mass burial of soldiers in Vilnius: childhood peculiarities and adult dietary habits

Palubeckaite

Jankauskas

Ardagna

et al. 2006

Int. J. Osteoarchaeol.

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A mass grave of the soldiers of Napoleon's Great Army, containing no less than 3269 individuals who died during the retreat from Russia in December 1812, was uncovered during an archaeological rescue excavation in 2002 in Vilnius, Lithuania. General dental analysis, including that of dental wear, tooth loss, caries, calculus, and periodontal diseases and abscesses, was used to evaluate the oral health status and possible dietary patterns of individuals who represented recruits from almost all of Western and Central Europe. Growth conditions in childhood were studied by scoring of linear enamel hypoplasia. In all, 293 individuals (6528 teeth) were selected for the analysis; 20-30 year old males made up the majority of the sample. Their general dental status is characteristic of young individuals: low dental attrition and antemortem tooth loss, as well as low prevalence of calculus and abscesses. The caries rate was average compared with late Medieval/early industrial populations and typical for individuals with diverse diets. However, a considerable amount of pulp caries and a high number of carious teeth in some individuals indicate consumption of cariogenic products (e.g. sugar, sweet drinks) and poor oral hygiene. The frequency and severity of hypoplasia was lower compared with other populations of that time, suggesting the selection of the fittest individuals for military service; this correlates with the historically known selection criteria of that period.

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Dental health of elderly confederate veterans: Evidence from the Texas State Cemetery

Cited by 16 publications

References 22 publications

Dental pathology and diet at Apollonia, a Greek colony on the Black Sea

Dental pathology and diet at Apollonia, a Greek colony on the Black Sea

Oral health and frailty in the medieval English cemetery of St Mary Graces

Dental status of Napoleon's Great Army's (1812) mass burial of soldiers in Vilnius: childhood peculiarities and adult dietary habits

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