9000 year old dentistry

[Guest guest]

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

Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

 

The dentists are credited as the originators of the specialty of Anesthesia.

Most of the early Anesthesiologists were all dentists. This article is self

explanatory, as to why they would even attempt to go into a specialty so diverse

from their own.

 

Thu, 6 Apr 2006 11:07:20 -0700 Caldecott

9000 year old dentistry

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.

<snip>

Durgesh Mankikar,MD