Periodontal disease and dental caries from Krapina Neanderthal to contemporary man – skeletal studies

Objective. The aim of this study was the quantification of alveolarbone resorption as well as the number and percentage of teeth withdental caries. Materials and Methods. Four samples of jaws and singleteeth were studied from four time periods, i.e. from the KrapinaNeanderthals (KN) who reportedly lived over 130,000 years ago, andgroups of humans from the 1st, 10th and 20th centuries. Resorption ofthe alveolar bone of the jaws was quantified by the tooth-cervicalheight (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. Results. Resorptive changes of the alveolar bone in KN and 1st century man were more pronounced on the vestibular surface thaninterdentally (p<0.05), while no significant difference could be confirmed for 10th and 20th 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 1st century, 24 (3.4%; n=697 teeth) in 10th century, and 207 (11.9%, n=1741 teeth) in 20th century. Conclusion. 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.