Dental caries in earlier populations of Slaboszewo, Kołobrzeg and Chełmska Gora (XII–XVIII C)

Abstract

This work is aiming to present the problem of caries in earlier populations on ground of skeletal materials originating from cemeteries in Słaboszewo (XIV–XVII c.) Kołobrzeg (XIV–XVII c.) and Chełmska Góra (XII –XV c.). Material contains 234 skulls from Słaboszewo (101 males, 67 females, 33 children and 33 of undeterminable sex), 279 from Kołobrzeg (148 males, 112 females, 10 children and 9 of undeterminable sex) and 213 from Chełmska Góra (82 males, 54 females, 11 children and 66 of undetermined sex). The method applied in this study takes into account allalveolae either with healthy or carious teeth or for teeth lost before and after death. Observable places for unerupted teeth were also considered. On ground of collected data index of total caries intensity (%E+%C) has been computed. Separately is given information as to the frequency and intensity of caries in various groups from the territory of Poland in different centuries (fig. 2). Under the term „frequency” we understand proportion of individuals with carious teeth in a population. Term „intensity” is used here for percentage of teeth with caries in an individual or population when total number of examined teeth is 100%.

In the investigated material highest frequency of caries is found in the cemetery from Słaboszewo (83%), lower for Kołobrzeg (78%) and Chełmska Góra (67%) — tab. 1 and tab. 2. Intensity of caries is higher in Kołobrzeg series (40%) than in Słaboszewo (29%/o), lower value is obtained for Chełmska Góra (14%) — tab. 3. Frequency of caries is higher among males than among females in two series (Słaboszewo and Chełmska Góra) in the material from Kołobrzeg frequency for females exceeds this for males (tab. 2). Higher intensity of caries is characteristic for males from Słaboszewo and females from Kołobrzeg and Chetmska Góra (tab 3).

Observing mandibular and maxillary teeth separately it has been found that caries is more intense in mandibular dental arch among people from Słaboszewo and Chełmska Góra; in Kołobrzeg more carious teeth are present in maxilla. In a table 5a, b, c are given values describing intensity of caries in each tooth of mandible and maxilla separately.

Degree of pathological changes is described by division into three categories: superficial, intermediate and profound carious cavity. These data together with an information on the ante mortem teeth loss enabled authors to suppose that in populations of Słaboszewo and Kołobrzeg caries had acute character, in the series from Chełmska Góra probably chronic type of this pathological process prevailed (tab. 6). Moreover number of teeth with open pulp cavities and fistules caused by processes resulting most probably from carious changes with respect to their localization were counted (tab. 7). Greater number of carious teeth is found in mandibles of individuals from Słaboszewo and Chełmska Góra (52% and 62% respectively) in skulls from Kołobrzeg upper dental arch was more intensely affected (61%) — tab 8. Dealing with the occurence of caries on various surfaces of tooth the authors have shown that most frequently chewing and contact surfaces were decayed in all examined series (fig. 1).

Frequency and intensity of caries for 54 skulls of children (inf I+inf II) from three cemeteries are shown in table 9.