Diet, disease and teeth

Question 1

Areas looked at …

Answer 1

• Foods that were consumed in the past
• Food consumption patterns
• Temporal changes
• Stages in economic divisions

Question 2

Factors that effect dental disease

Answer 2

• Age groups
• Sexes
• Geographic regions
• Temporally

Question 3

Dietary reconstruction from human hard tissues

Answer 3

1. Chemical signatures
   
   • Stable carbon isotopes (12C / 13C )
     (14N / 15N)
     Terrestrial Vs marine protein, trophic level
2. Dental Microwear:
   
   • Microscopic dental pits and scratches – dietary
     hardness and dietary abrasiveness
3. Dental disease:
   
   • Caries (decay, holes in teeth) – dietary carbohydrates

Question 4

Define Dental Caries

Answer 4

• Localised demineralisation of dental hard

tissues by oral bacteria

Question 5

Causes of Dental caries and wear

Answer 5

1. Plaque (Ph neutral = 6.8, if Ph <5.5 = demineralisation )
   
   • Oral bacteria
   • Metabolites
   • Organic substrates
   • Inorganic salts
2. Bacteria
   
   • Lactobacillus acidophilus
   • Streptococcus mutans

Question 6

Influences on tooth decay and wear

Answer 6

1. Exogenous: carbohydrates
   
   • Monosaccharides (honey)- secrete an acid and that
     leeches out white enamel and takes out minerals.
   • Disaccharides (sugar beet)- have to destruct down into
     singular monosaccharides to excrete acids.
   • Polysaccharides (wheat, barley)
2. Endogenous:
   
   • Dental anatomy
   • Saliva production -antibacterial agents, elevates pH
     levels
   • Sex, women have thicker tooth enamel , women’s
     teeth should be better protected.
   • Age – older adults = cement enamel junction
     Younger adult/ children= occlusal surface
3. Environment:
   
   • Minerals present e.g. Fluoride, Selenium, Magnesium

Question 7

Higher tooth decay rates:

Answer 7

• High monosaccharide diet = more tooth decay
• People growing up in 1970s – more prevalent tooth
  decay
• Where you grow up can also influence ; Midlands = lots
  of fluoride in the water to reduce dental decay. Tooth
  decay seemingly went down.

Question 8

Dental Caries Stages

Answer 8

1. Brown or hyper white spots form
   2.Enamel erosion, penetrated into the enamel
   3.Dentine exposed, started to get dangerous because it’s
   gone through enamel and accessed the blood supply
   4.Pulp cavity is exposed, blood vessels and nerves are
   exposed this can cause an abscess (can infect blood
   supply – FATAL condition/life threatening)

Question 9

How to record tooth caries

Answer 9

• Individual
• Tooth DMF Index
• Location

Question 10

Analysing Tooth Caries

Answer 10

(Number of individuals affected / Overall number in
sample) X 100 = % of carious individuals

(Number of Carious teeth / total number of teeth observed) X 100 = % of carious teeth

(Number of Carious surfaces / Number of surfaces present) X 100 = % of carious surfaces

Question 11

Dental Caries facts…

Answer 11

• Reduced over the last 30 years
• In the UK = 40% of older adults suffer total tooth loss
• 20-90% children still have dental caries
• Low income countries = dental decay more prevalent
  90% of caries are left untreated