An investigation of dental health in the migration period: A case study from Prague-Zličín, Czech Republic

Abstract

In this study, 97 individuals from Prague-Zličín, in central Bohemia, Czech Republic, were scored for basic dental features, including dental caries, prevalence of dental enamel hypoplasia (DEH), and dental wear patterns, in order to discover basic characteristics of their diet, and the extent of nonspecific stressors (i.e. indicators of metabolic and nutritional disruptions) during the Migration Period (5th century AD). The sample is comprised of 18 subadults (0–14 year-old) and 79 adult individuals over 15 years, with a total number of 1129 permanent and 111 deciduous teeth. Values of caries intensity were 21.0 and its frequency 59.5. Higher values of caries intensity were found in males (24.0) than in the female population (21.3). The most frequent type of dental caries was found in the mesial and distal facets of the cemento-enamel junction and smooth surfaces of the crown (64.1%), which may be connected with deteriorated oral hygiene in this series. The 9.8% of dental caries located on the occlusal surface of the crown can be interpreted, together with the proven low dental wear, as the existence of a softer diet during this Migration period than in the former Neolithic period. DEH was present at a high frequency (32.2% of all examined individuals), but nearly all of these records of past stressors in childhood have only short-term acute forms in the way of lines or grooves. Only one single case provided evidence for a chronic form of DEH. The timing of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) studied in 13 individuals provides an assessment of the occurrence and frequency of age when LEH formed. Overall anthropological analysis suggests a relative high number of indicators of environmental stressors related to the prevalence of dental caries, pre-mortem tooth loss and the prevalence scores of DEH.