Brief Communication: An enigmatic enamel alteration on the anterior maxillary teeth in a prehistoric North Italian population

Abstract

In this paper we describe a hitherto undocumented modification of the dental enamel surface observed in an Early Bronze Age population from northern Italy. The defect, which can be described as a curvilinear groove, is located on the lingual surface of incisors and canines in the upper jaw. This groove, documented both in the permanent and deciduous dentition, is located at approximately 1 mm from the cervix and extends from the mesiolingual to the distolingual surface. The occurrence of the groove is not related to the sex of the affected individuals, but its degree of expression is related to age at death. Because of its morphology, the groove cannot be considered as a result of disruptions in the process of enamel deposition. At the present stage of research we suggest that the groove might have been the result of some kind of dental erosion caused by as yet unidentified chemical factors.

Gigapixel-like imaging strategies for dental anthropology: Applications for scientific communication and training in digital image analysis

“…The tooth exhibits lingual surface attrition of the maxillary anterior teeth (LSAMAT: Turner and Machado, 1983) involving the enamel and exposing dentin in the cervical third of the lingual surface (grade 2: Tanga et al, 2016). A faint continuous cingular lesion (CCL: Dori and Moggi-Cecchi, 2014;Carrasco et al, 2017;Marado et al, 2017) is also present. While the exact aetiology of CCL is poorly understood, the lesions are probably due to erosion (Dori and Moggi-Cecchi, 2014;Carrasco et al, 2017), although some hypothesize that they are related to abrasive wear from nonalimentary behaviors like fiber or cordage processing (Marado et al, 2017).…”

“…A faint continuous cingular lesion (CCL: Dori and Moggi-Cecchi, 2014;Carrasco et al, 2017;Marado et al, 2017) is also present. While the exact aetiology of CCL is poorly understood, the lesions are probably due to erosion (Dori and Moggi-Cecchi, 2014;Carrasco et al, 2017), although some hypothesize that they are related to abrasive wear from nonalimentary behaviors like fiber or cordage processing (Marado et al, 2017). The lack of localized striations on the CCL suggests an erosive origin in this case.…”

Dental erosion caused by a gastrointestinal disorder in a child from the Late Holocene of Northeastern Brazil

“…Dental erosion is often discussed in the medical and dental literature but is rarely described in the archaeological literature. This fact suggests that physical illnesses are responsible for the minority of cases of dental erosion, whereas mental disorders and the frequent ingestion of acidic food and beverages are the main etiological agents for dental changes in modern society (Dori and Moggi-Cecchi, 2014;Lanigan and Bartlett, 2013;Robb et al, 1991).…”