Toothpicking and periodontal disease in a Neanderthal specimen from Cova Foradà site (Valencia, Spain)

We present a Neanderthal maxilla (CF-1) from Cova Foradà site (Oliva, Valencia, Spain) with periodontal disease and evidence of attempts to alleviate pain with the use of a toothpick. Two interproximal grooves have been found on the distal surfaces of the upper left Pm(3) and M(1) of CF-1 maxilla. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2013-10, Vol.8 (10), p.e76852-e76852
Main Authors:	Lozano, Marina, Subirà, Maria Eulàlia, Aparicio, José, Lorenzo, Carlos, Gómez-Merino, Gala
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Animals Cultural heritage Dental caries Enamel Fossils Geography Grooves Gum disease Hominids Homo neanderthalensis Human remains Humans Lithic Maxilla Maxilla - pathology Medieval period Mesolithic Neanderthals Pain Periodontal disease Periodontal Diseases - pathology Periodontics Spain Teeth Tooth - pathology
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Summary:	We present a Neanderthal maxilla (CF-1) from Cova Foradà site (Oliva, Valencia, Spain) with periodontal disease and evidence of attempts to alleviate pain with the use of a toothpick. Two interproximal grooves have been found on the distal surfaces of the upper left Pm(3) and M(1) of CF-1 maxilla. The location, morphology and size of the grooves coincide with other interproximal grooves found on the teeth of other fossil specimens. Heavy dental wear and periodontal disease would have caused the Cova Foradà Neanderthal specimen pain and discomfort, which the individual attempted to mitigate using some kind of dental probe.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203