Periodontal health and the lifecourse approach in bioarchaeology

Abstract

Healthy periodontal tissues are essential to maintaining attachment, stability, and retention of teeth. The concept of ‘health’ is problematic however and includes both physical and psycho-social characteristics. The challenge for bioarchaeologists is defining what physical expression begins to affect an individual’s well-being. Here we apply a lifecourse approach to the measurement of periodontal tissue depth (CEJ-AC) at M1 in a prehistoric sample (N = 162) from the American Southwest to test the hypothesis that age and sex differences bear the greatest impact on the expression of periodontitis. CEJ-AC at M1 increased significantly (p<.001) across age stages from 1.5 ±0.5mm (15-20yo) to 4.25 ±0.25mm in the old age group (40-50yo). Occlusal surface wear and alveolar crest (AC) resorption were considerably variable (non-significant) between sexes; however, tooth loss at M1 is more than double among females compared to males in the final decades 40-50yo and 50-60yo. Results support the hypothesis that periodontal tissue loss differentially affects females across the lifecourse. Bacterial infection, chronic gingivitis, and bony resorption cause the physical symptoms of periodontal disease but may not be accompanied by pain or altered functionality. The outcome of the disease process is tooth loss, which can affect functionality and quality of life. Periodontal ‘health’ is therefore best interpreted in bioarchaeological samples around the point that alveolar recession results in tooth loss and altered functionality.

Diet and differentiation in the Roman province of Macedonia: A bioarchaeological approach

“…In that context, dietary shifts from the protein based consumption patterns of foragers to the consumption of carbohydrates or processed food due to the advent of agriculture have been widely studied in past populations showing an increasing trend in the frequency of periodontitis among agriculturalists compared to hunter-gatherers (e.g., Beckett and Lovell, 1994;Frayer, 1984;Klaus and Tam, 2010;Larsen, 1995;Marklein et al, 2019;Munoz, 2017;Sakashita et al, 1997;Scott et al, 1992). The differential access to certain foodstuffs based on sex has been also the focus of bioarchaeological studies, revealing no uniform trends, with some studies showing a higher frequency of periodontitis among men (in agreement with clinical research, see above) (e.g., DeWitte, 2012;Šlaus, 2000;Tomczyk et al, 2018;Wasterlain et al, 2011), others among females (e.g., Tuggle and Watson, 2019;Watson et al, 2010), and others no differences between sexes (e.g., Giuffra et al, 2020). Finally, the use of food as a medium to maintain power relations between various social groups has also been studied in relation to periodontitis and other dental diseases (e.g., Gagnon, 2004;Owsley et al, 1987;Sakashita et al, 1997).…”