Dental pathology and occlusal wear in Valença, Portugal (Modern and Contemporary Ages) — preliminary interpretations

Abstract

Teeth are a valuable information source in bioarchaeology. Dental pathology informs on diet, habits, hygiene and treatment in the past. A churchyard necropolis in the strategically important Valença fortress, of medieval origin, was excavated in 2010. The dental pathology of 30 individuals (19 adults: seven males, seven females, five undetermined sex) is preliminarily interpreted in this work. Caries frequencies are moderately high (47.3% of teeth) yet, cavitated lesions (29.4% of teeth), ante-mortem tooth loss (AMTL) (36.3% of alveoli) and calculus index (CI) (0.687) are high. Females show higher CI, caries and AMTL frequencies than males. Periapical granulomas/cysts affect 25% of adult individuals (non-adults are not affected). Periodontitis affects 65.4% of teeth; males are more affected than females. Mean occlusal wear score is 3.5 (SD=1.1). Despite their young age (mostly up to 7 years), non-adults show relatively high frequencies of caries (11.0% of teeth) and cavitated caries (2.6% of teeth). Results suggest moderate to high fermentable carbohydrate intake. Females likely had a different diet than males. Oral hygiene and treatment were inexistent or scarce. Regular use of teeth as tools was unlikely. Early industrialization’s influence on the diet of the rural and peripheral border town of Valença was incipient.