how many of you feel this method was to "decorative or to release
'evil spirits', more than fighting tooth decay"?

viewed in context with the history of ayurveda, does it represent a
sophisticated epoch in the development of medicine on the sub-continent?

best... todd caldecott


9,000-Year-Old Dentistry

Associated Press 14:00 PM Apr, 05, 2006

Proving prehistoric man's ingenuity and ability to withstand and
inflict excruciating pain, researchers have found that dental
drilling dates back 9,000 years. Primitive dentists drilled nearly
perfect holes into live but undoubtedly unhappy patients between 5500
B.C. and 7000 B.C., an article in Thursday's journal Nature reports.
Researchers carbon-dated at least nine skulls with 11 drill holes
found in a Pakistan graveyard. That means dentistry is at least 4,000
years older than first thought — and far older than the useful
invention of anesthesia. This was no mere tooth tinkering. The
drilled teeth found in the graveyard were hard-to-reach molars. And
in at least one instance, the ancient dentist managed to drill a hole
in the inside back end of a tooth, boring out toward the front of the
mouth. The holes went as deep as one-seventh of an inch (3.5
millimeters). "The holes were so perfect, so nice," said study co-
author David Frayer, an anthropology professor at the University of
Kansas. "I showed the pictures to my dentist and he thought they were
amazing holes." How it was done is painful just to think about.
Researchers figured that a small bow was used to drive the flint
drill tips into patients' teeth. Flint drill heads were found on
site. So study lead author Roberto Macchiarelli, an anthropology
professor at the University of Poitiers, France, and colleagues
simulated the technique and drilled through human (but no longer
attached) teeth in less than a minute. "Definitely it had to be
painful for the patient," Macchiarelli said. Researchers were
impressed by how advanced the society was in Pakistan's Baluchistan
province. The drilling occurred on ordinary men and women. The
dentistry, probably evolved from intricate ornamental bead drilling
that was also done by the society there, went on for about 1,500
years until about 5500 B.C., Macchiarelli said. After that, there
were no signs of drilling. Macchiarelli and Frayer said the drilling
was likely done to reduce the pain of cavities. Macchiarelli pointed
to one unfortunate patient who had a tooth drilled twice. Another
patient had three teeth drilled. Four drilled teeth showed signs of
cavities. No sign of fillings were found, but there could have been
an asphalt-like substance inside, he said. Dr. Richard Glenner, a
Chicago dentist and author of dental history books, wouldn't bite on
the idea that this was good dentistry. The drilling could have been
decorative or to release "evil spirits" more than fighting tooth
decay, he said, adding, "Why did they do it? No one will ever know."
Macchiarelli said the hard-to-see locations of the drilled teeth in
jaws seem to rule out drilling for decorative purposes. Frayer said
the prehistoric drillers' skill is something modern-day patients can
use to lord over their dentists. "This may be something to tell your
dentist: If these people 9,000 years ago could make a hole this
perfect in less than a minute," Frayer said, "what are they doing?"

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/1,70599-0.html

Todd Caldecott
todd@...
www.toddcaldecott.com