Romans had less perio disease
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- Published: Wednesday, 05 November 2014 07:21
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Analysis of the skulls of more than 300 Roman Britons has found a significantly lower rate of periodontitis than exists in today’s population, according to an article in the BDJ. According to reasearcher Francis Hughes, professor of periodontology at King’s College London, “To a lot of people’s surprise they (the Romans) had quite a lot less periodontitis than the modern human population. It was about a third as common as today”.
The skulls, originally buried in a site in Poundbury, Dorset, and now at the Natural History Museum, had between 5% and 10% with the condition, compared with about 15 per cent to 30 per cent today. But they also had considerably more evidence of abrasion on their teeth, probably a result of the diet of coarse grains that was common. The Poundbury teeth also had fewer cavities. “Decay was not widespread like it might be today,” Professor Hughes said. “But it was still there, probably a consequence of the starchy cereals they ate. Over the years that increased bacterial growth.The amount of chronic infection must have caused a lot of misery.”
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