Dental Health Diet and Social Status among Central African Foragers and Farmers

An oral health survey of African pygmies and Bantu revealed significant contrasts that can be explained by differences in diet, social status, and oral hygiene. Pygmy men have fewer carious lesions and less tooth loss than pygmy women. Ethnographic data suggest that this results from sex differences in eating habits and access to cariogenic foods. Pygmy "leaders" have much better dental health than "nonleaders." This status difference appears to be explained by social and dietary variables.