郑州汪沟遗址仰韶文化居民的牙齿磨耗及口腔健康状况

对汪沟遗址出土的174例仰韶文化居民的2816枚牙齿进行统计与分析,计算出牙齿的平均磨耗等级和前后部牙齿磨耗差别指数,统计特殊磨耗、龋齿、骨质隆起在样本中的出现率。结果显示,汪沟组牙齿平均磨耗等级为3.403262级,男性牙齿平均磨耗等级为3.63级,女性为3.61级;男女两性牙齿磨耗差异不显著(p>0.05);前后部牙齿磨耗差别指数比达到1:1;出现26例由于深覆■导致的特殊磨耗;臼齿咬合面凹坑式磨耗出现率为2.50%;龋齿患病率68.97%,龋齿率26.56%,龋均4.30;骨质隆起的出现率为5.20%,颌骨粗壮程度不显著。汪沟人群的牙齿磨耗程度总体偏轻,牙齿磨耗程度与河南下王岗组居民接近。基于以上特点,我们认为中原地区仰韶文化人群在饮食结构和用牙习惯上存在一定的共性。     

儿童牙齿磨耗研究概述

牙齿磨耗是一个多因素、多阶段、复杂渐进的过程。其特征是牙齿硬组织逐渐消失,牙齿磨耗程度可以一定程度反映饮食结构和生活方式。国外很多学者探讨了年龄、性别、饮食结构、断奶、社会分工、社会经济地位等因素对儿童牙齿磨耗的影响,及乳齿恒齿磨耗差异、牙列磨耗模式特点、牙齿磨耗与错(牙合)畸形的关系等,而国内儿童牙齿磨耗研究相对薄弱。本文通过梳理和归纳相关文献,对儿童牙齿磨耗研究作简要概述,并对国内相关研究作简要回顾及展望。     

新疆且末扎滚鲁克墓地二期居民的牙齿磨耗

本文对新疆且末扎滚鲁克墓地二期出土208例头骨上的1849枚牙齿进行了观察与研究。将所有个体按照年龄和性别分组,通过计算每个个体上颌或下颌骨上各牙齿相对第1臼齿的磨耗指数,分析各组之间相对磨耗指数的分布差异。经过与国内外不同人群的对比,对扎滚鲁克居民的牙齿磨耗模式特点以及可能存在的牙齿使用方式、行为特征等内容进行了初步探讨。结果显示,该人群的牙齿磨耗随着年龄增长显著增加,不同年龄组人群之间前后牙齿磨耗情况有很大的差异,牙齿磨耗在性别间差异并不显著。下颌个体出现了较为普遍的前牙磨耗比后牙偏严重的现象,这种现象主要集中在中年组下颌上。这种不寻常的下颌前牙磨耗较后牙偏重现象可能受到牙齿的工具性使用,牙齿萌出顺序以及年龄三方面因素共同作用的影响;中年个体下颌前牙磨耗的偏重现象可能反映了人群的行为特征。     

当代水族男性的牙齿磨耗特点及其成因

一直以来,有关人类牙齿磨耗的研究主要集中在年龄判定和生业方式比较方面。然而,很多研究因样本人群来源复杂、忽视个体牙齿磨耗的特殊性及缺乏足够的个人信息,很难进一步解释其牙齿磨耗特点的成因。本文基于对当代水族男性牙齿磨耗的记录和相关信息,通过梳理该人群牙齿磨耗的一般特点和特殊磨耗形式,探讨了有关影响该人群牙齿磨耗的可能因素。笔者发现,总体来说,该人群的牙齿磨耗较轻,牙齿磨耗水平与其年龄分布呈正相关关系,符合人类牙齿面随年龄增长而发生退行性生理磨耗的规律。牙齿磨耗等级在不同年龄中呈镶嵌式分布,某些个体存在越位磨耗现象。从本文的结果看,这些现象的产生除了退行性生理磨耗的原因外,还可能与口腔健康状况、饮食结构和少餐习惯等因素密切相关。     

当代水族男性的牙齿磨耗特点及其成因北大核心CSCDCSSCI

一直以来,有关人类牙齿磨耗的研究主要集中在年龄判定和生业方式比较方面。然而,很多研究因样本人群来源复杂、忽视个体牙齿磨耗的特殊性及缺乏足够的个人信息,很难进一步解释其牙齿磨耗特点的成因。本文基于对当代水族男性牙齿磨耗的记录和相关信息,通过梳理该人群牙齿磨耗的一般特点和特殊磨耗形式,探讨了有关影响该人群牙齿磨耗的可能因素。笔者发现,总体来说,该人群的牙齿磨耗较轻,牙齿磨耗水平与其年龄分布呈正相关关系,符合人类牙齿面随年龄增长而发生退行性生理磨耗的规律。牙齿磨耗等级在不同年龄中呈镶嵌式分布,某些个体存在越位磨耗现象。从本文的结果看,这些现象的产生除了退行性生理磨耗的原因外,还可能与口腔健康状况、饮食结构和少餐习惯等因素密切相关。     

陶寺、上马、延庆古代人群臼齿磨耗速率的比较研究

本文采用Scott定义的臼齿磨耗级别系统,对陶寺、上马、延庆三组人牙的第一、第二臼齿磨耗情况进行观察,并通过主轴回归分析对其磨耗速率进行比较和讨论。在经济类型上,陶寺和上马属于农业经济,但陶寺的狩猎在其经济生活中占有一定地位;延庆畜牧业则比较发达。分析表明三组人牙均表现出臼齿磨耗速率下颌快于上颌的特点,而在性别上没有明显差异。在组间差别上,上马组的磨耗速率似略快于其他两组。磨耗速率的组内、组间差异与上下颌牙齿咬合关系、口腔咀嚼生理以及不同经济文化古人群的食物构成等差异有关。     

以牙磨耗度和牙指数推算牙齿年龄的多元回归方程式的研究

本文对97例华南人M~I的磨耗度、牙指数和年龄三者之间的关系进行了深入探讨。并由此而提出以牙磨耗度和牙指数为两个变量的三元回归方程。比较分析结果表明,三元相关系数高于其它二元相关系数,三元回归方程的标准估计误差低于其它二元回归方程的标准估计误差。因而,以三元回归方程式比单纯以牙指数或牙磨耗度作为变量的二元回归方程式估计年龄准确。     

桂林甑皮岩新石器时代遗址2例儿童的年龄问题

作者报告２例于桂林甑皮岩新石器时代早期遗址出土的正处于换牙期的儿童乳、恒牙更换及其被磨耗的状况,讨论了从他们的牙磨耗级估计的年龄与从其乳、恒牙更换关系估计的年龄的误差,并提出用现代人牙磨耗级估计史前人类年龄的意见．     

西藏故如甲木墓地人群牙齿磨耗和食物结构的关系

西藏阿里故如甲木墓地位于阿里地区噶尔县,是迄今为止阿里地区发现的规模最大、埋葬最集中的古代墓葬群。2012-2014年由中国社会科学院考古研究所和西藏自治区文物保护研究所联合开展发掘工作,发现并清理了11座墓葬,其中8座墓葬的时代略早,约为公元3-4世纪。另外3座为公元7-9世纪的吐蕃时期墓葬。本文对时代略早的8座故如甲木墓地出土的人骨进行了牙齿磨耗的观察,计算了每颗牙齿的平均磨耗等级以及前后部牙齿的磨耗差别指数,并选择了7组不同时代、不同地点、不同生业类型的古代人群进行了比较分析。结果表明,故如甲木的古代人群牙齿磨耗与畜牧业人群的磨耗接近,这也符合故如甲木当时的生业类型,即以牧业为主,辅以青稞和谷物的种植栽培。从牙齿磨耗推测故如甲木的人群在食物结构中有足够的动物性食物,这与碳氮同位素的食物结构分析结果也是一致的。     

新疆及内蒙古地区青铜-铁器时代居民牙齿磨耗及健康状况的分析

对从新疆、内蒙古和内地7处考古遗址出土的古代居民牙齿磨耗、牙齿疾病、牙齿生前脱落及咀嚼肌发育情况进行的观察和对比发现生活在青铜-铁器时代的新疆和内蒙古居民牙齿平均磨耗与内地新石器时代居民大体接近.在磨耗方式上,新疆和内蒙古居民呈现出一些可能反映其生活或行为方式的特殊磨耗.龋齿病和牙齿生前脱落的出现率在边疆和内地居民具有明显的差别,表现为内地居民龋齿发病率高,而边疆居民牙齿生前脱落更普遍.另外,新疆和内蒙古居民上下颌骨出现有发育显著的骨质隆起.作者认为生活在青铜-铁器时代的新疆和内蒙古居民与同时期,甚至时代更早的内地居民相比,食物更为粗糙坚硬、含颗粒成分高;出现在新疆和内蒙古居民牙齿的局部或特殊磨耗、牙齿生前脱落、颌骨骨质隆起等现象说明边疆地区的居民生活环境比较恶劣,经常需要用牙齿啃咬坚硬的物品,或将牙齿作为工具使用.此外,龋齿病出现率的明显差别说明边疆居民谷物类富含碳水化合物的食物的摄入比例较内地居民为低.本文的发现进一步提示青铜-铁器时代的新疆和内蒙古地区,居民的社会经济生活中狩猎-采集仍占有较为重要的地位,农业经济的比重相对较低.     

The caries-attrition competition

Contradictory reports on the interreation of caries and attrition concerning their destructive activity at the occlusal surface of teeth required more investigation. Some suggested that the abrasive action of attrition worked against the progress of decay. Others proposed that attrition facilitated the development of caries in dentine exposed due to the dental wear. A comparison of the condition of teeth in western societies from an intermediate stage, with the preceding period characterized by excessive attrition, and with the following period of ongoing reduction of dental wear, might elucidate the mutual relationship. For this reason the almost complete dental assemblage of fifty men, whalers buried during their short sojourn in the Arctic in the 17th and 18th centuries at a Dutch whaling station, and the data of their contemporaries, were evaluated. The results confirmed the proposition that the rise in caries incidence from (pre-) medieval times on, was associated with an ongoing fall of dental attrition. Within this sample of an intermediate phase, one sees that the percentage of carious molars decreases considerably when the degree of dental wear increases. Besides, at the occlusal surface the decay was almost exclusively located in the natural fissures and pits of teeth, not in the exposed dentine due to wear. These findings strongly suggest a competitive relationship between progress of caries and attrition. The best impression of the attrition rate is gained by linkage of degree of dental attrition (i.e. functional age) to age at death. The wide age ranges fitting to the degrees of molar wear make it hazardous to use attrition for age determination.     

Relationships between attrition and lingual tilting in human teeth

Associations between occlusal dental attrition and the lingual tilting of human teeth were investigated in two aboriginal California populations. A literature survey suggests lingual tilting is related geographically and temporally to the helicoidal occlusal plane in humans; if true, lingual tilting should be expected throughout the Homo osteological record. Buccal alveolar abscesses, exposed pulp chambers, extent of tooth attrition, angle of lingual tilt, and amount of overjet were observed for lingually tilted teeth. These attributes were analyzed statistically, leading to a conclusion that lingual tilting is slight and infrequent unless tooth attrition is pronounced. It is suggested that lingual tilting is due in part to masticatory stress. A feedback model considers lingual tilting as one conspicuous manifestation of a more complex “severe attrition syndrome,” the initial stimulus for which may derive from heavy occlusal tooth wear. Untested possibilities should be examined–e.g., age-related changes, the impact of the helicoidal occlusal plane, and the role of masticatory forces.     

Sex Differences in Hadza Dental Wear Patterns

Among hunter-gatherers, the sharing of male and female foods is often assumed to result in virtually the same diet for males and females. Although food sharing is widespread among the hunting and gathering Hadza of Tanzania, women were observed eating significantly more tubers than men. This study investigates the relationship between patterns of dental wear, diet, and extramasticatory use of teeth among the Hadza. Casts of the upper dentitions were made from molds taken from 126 adults and scored according to the Murphy dental attrition scoring system. Females had significantly greater anterior occlusal wear than males when we controlled for age. Males exhibited greater asymmetry in wear, with greater wear on the left side in canines, first premolars, and first molars. We suggest that these sex differences in wear patterns reflect the differences seen in the diet, as well as in the use of teeth as tools.     

Measurements of tooth wear among Australian Aborigines: I. Serial loss of the enamel crown

The dental casts made from Aboriginal children during the course of a longitudinal growth study in Central Australia provided material for analyzing tooth wear under known environmental conditions. The wear facets produced on the occlusal surfaces were clearly preserved on the dental stone casts and recorded the progress of enamel attrition from ages 6 to 18. These casts were photographed and traced by electronic planimetric methods that automatically recorded the location and size of wear facets on the first and second permanent molars. These areas of worn tooth surface were compared to the total tooth surface. The worn surface was regressed on age to calculate wear rates of each tooth. Discriminant analyses were also performed to determine the significance of dental attrition differences between the sexes at each age group. The total wear on each tooth was highly correlated with age as expected but females wore their teeth at a significantly higher rate than males. The mandibular molars wore more rapidly than maxillary teeth in both sexes. The discriminant analysis successfully grouped 91% of the cases according to age and sex. Pattern of wear, the location, and size of wear facets also differed between age groups and sex. The questions of why there is a difference between male and female wear or why there is greater wear on one arch or arch region have no ready answers. The differing rates and pattern of dental wear do suggest that arch shape and growth rates may be the answer though it has yet to be tested. However, the occlusal surface wear is useful for age estimation in a population and provides a record of shifting masticatory forces during growth.     

明万历帝及其两后的口腔情况

本文对明神宗万历帝及其两后的口腔情况进行了观察,尤其对龋齿、牙周病、氟牙症及磨耗等方面,作了分析和讨论。     

Occlusion in an Adult Male Gorilla with a Supernumerary Maxillary Premolar

Supernumerary teeth, or teeth that develop in addition to the normal number of deciduous and permanent dentition, have been widely described in human and nonhuman primates. Most studies have focused on the morphology and on the etiology of supernumerary teeth, and little is known about their occlusal relationships with adjacent and antagonistic teeth, and their effects on individuals’ masticatory efficiency. We analyzed the occlusal wear pattern of an adult male Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) with a fully erupted extra maxillary right premolar. We used a virtual method, occlusal fingerprint analysis, to reconstruct the major mandibular occlusal pathways responsible for the creation of wear facets on the tooth crowns. This approach is based on analysis of facet parameters such as inclination, directions, and areas, all measured using high-resolution 3-D virtual models of dental crowns. The results show unusual wear patterns in the supernumerary premolar and on its antagonist contacts (lower P4 and M1) that cannot be associated with a normal masticatory behavior. Occlusal simulation and kinematic analyses reveal a high level of directional overlapping combined with the absence of common occlusal contacts. This indicates a case of malocclusion that must have caused discomfort in this gorilla when biting or chewing, and may represent the first evidence of bruxism (grinding the teeth and clenching the jaw) in wild great apes.     

Dental wear,wear rate,and dental disease in the African apes

The African apes possess thinner enamel than do other hominoids, and a certain amount of dentin exposure may be advantageous in the processing of tough diets eaten by Gorilla. Dental wear (attrition plus abrasion) that erodes the enamel exposes the underlying dentin and creates additional cutting edges at the dentin‐enamel junction. Hypothetically, efficiency of food processing increases with junction formation until an optimal amount is reached, but excessive wear hinders efficient food processing and may lead to sickness, reduced fecundity, and death. Occlusal surfaces of molars and incisors in three populations each of Gorilla and Pan were videotaped and digitized. The quantity of incisal and molar occlusal dental wear and the lengths of dentin–enamel junctions were measured in 220 adult and 31 juvenile gorilla and chimpanzee skulls. Rates of dental wear were calculated in juveniles by scoring the degree of wear between adjacent molars M1 and M2. Differences were compared by principal (major) axis analysis. ANOVAs compared means of wear amounts. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to compare the relationship between molar wear and incidence of dental disease. Results indicate that quantities of wear are significantly greater in permanent incisors and molars and juvenile molars of gorillas compared to chimpanzees. The lengths of dentin–enamel junctions were predominantly suboptimal. Western lowland gorillas have the highest quantities of wear and the most molars with suboptimal wear. The highest rates of wear are seen in Pan paniscus and Pan t. troglodytes, and the lowest rates are found in P.t. schweinfurthii and G. g. graueri. Among gorillas, G. b. beringei have the highest rates but low amounts of wear. Coefficients between wear and dental disease were low, but significant when all teeth were combined. Gorilla teeth are durable, and wear does not lead to mechanical senescence in this sample. Am. J. Primatol. 72:481–491, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Occlusal relief changes with molar wear in Pan troglodytes troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Most research on primate tooth form-function relationships has focused on unworn teeth. This study presents a morphological comparison of variably worn lower second molars (M(2)s) of lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla; n=47) and common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes; n=54) using dental topographic analysis. High-resolution replicas of occlusal surfaces were prepared and scanned in 3D by laser scanning. The resulting elevation data were used to create a geographic information system (GIS) for each tooth. Occlusal relief, defined as the ratio of 3D surface area to 2D planometric area of the occlusal table, was calculated and compared between wear stages, taxa, and sexes. The results failed to show a difference in occlusal relief between males and females of a given taxon, but did evince differences between wear stages and between taxa. A lack of significant interaction between wear stage and taxon factors suggests that differences in occlusal relief between chimpanzees and gorillas are maintained throughout the wear sequence. These results add to a growing body of information on how molar teeth change with wear, and how differences between primate species are maintained at comparable points throughout the wear sequence. Such studies provide new insights into form-function relationships, which will allow us to infer certain aspects of diet in fossils with worn teeth.     

Seasonal Mortality Patterns in Primates: Implications for the Interpretation of Dental Microwear

The microscopic traces of use wear on teeth have been extensively studied to provide information that will assist in elucidating the dietary habits of extinct hominin species. 1 - 13 It has been amply documented that dental microwear provides information pertaining to diet for living animals, where there is a strong and consistent association between dental microwear patterns and different types of foods that are chewed. The details of occlusal surface wear patterns are capable of distinguishing among diets when the constituent food items differ in their fracture properties. 14 - 20 For example, the microwear traces left on the teeth of mammals that crush hard, brittle foods such as nuts are generally dominated by pits, whereas traces left on the teeth of mammals that shear tough items such as leaves tend to be characterized by scratches. These microwear features result from and thus record actual chewing events. As such, microwear patterns are expected to be variably ephemeral, as individual features are worn away and replaced or overprinted by others as the tooth wears down in subsequent bouts of mastication. Indeed, it has been demonstrated, both in the laboratory and the wild, that short‐term dietary variation can result in the turnover of microwear. 17 , 21 - 23 Because occlusal microwear potentially reflects an individual's diet for a short time (days, weeks, or months, depending on the nature of the foods being masticated), tooth surfaces sampled at different times will display differences that relate to temporal (for example, seasonal) differences in diet. 24     

Patterns of dental wear in the Lengua Indians of Paraguay

Wear patterns were examined on dental casts of 202 living Lengua Indians from the Chaco area of Paraguay. Consideration was given to the development of the molar helicoidal plane, age-related changes in occlusal attrition, coalescence of dentine exposures, interproximal attrition, and erupted crown height. This study lends support to Osborn's theory of the helicoidal plane development by showing that attrition enhances rather than modifies posteruption molar occlusal planes. The rate of interproximal attrition was found to slow down with the eruption and functional initiation of the third molars. Sinuous and cavo-convex interproximal contact areas that are generated with age, however, appeared to be less abrasion resistant than straight surfaces, hence leading to an increase in interproximal attrition rates with advanced age. Maximum crown height reduction occurred between the ages of 20 and 40 years in central incisors, canines, and first molars. Kruskal-Wallis tests and log linera models failed to demonstrate significant sexually dimorphic or antimeric differences in wear patterns of Lengua teeth.