Modern day humans have every imaginable convenience at their fingertips. Tons of information is instantly available from the web. Previously incurable diseases were far from their usual iterations. Transportation is more efficient and advanced than ever before.
Try taking one facet of these conveniences (i.e. dental health) and there seems to be a massive gap between modern day treatment and the ancient methods. Practices such as CuffleyVillageDental.co.uk make it possible. It’s common to think that ancient people had worse teeth, just because of the lack of advanced dental care methods. But this is not the case, according to archaeological evidence.
Ancient Pearly Smiles
Some people claim that all modern people have attractive teeth, but not necessarily healthy ones. According to Alan Cooper of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, prehistoric people had healthier teeth because of their diet. As ancient humans transitioned from eating meat to cultivated crops, the new, carbohydrate-rich diet wreaked havoc on their mouths. Dental problems began, due to the introduction of increased amounts of sugar.
Archaeologists excavating the ancient Roman city of Pompeii came upon a revelation. As they scanned the remains of 30 people who were killed by the hot ash from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, they found that these people had ‘perfect’ teeth.
How is this possible when toothpaste and toothbrushes, as well as modern dental care, didn’t even exist? It all goes back to diet once again. These people ate fibre-rich, low-sugar food, as well as a lot of fruit and vegetables. This type of diet meant that Pompeii’s inhabitants rarely suffered from cavities or other typical modern day dental problems.
Their teeth were maintained without teeth cleaning practices — though scientists have yet to uncover evidence that may prove otherwise.
What can be concluded from these discoveries? It means that ancient humans ate healthily and maintained healthy teeth. The modern day diet of too much sugar is proving to be harmful to not only physical health, but also to oral teeth. Ancient people may have had no access to modern day healthcare, but their diets were all they needed to possess teeth that can be the envy of many nowadays.
