Dental caries and wear are important conditions to record in archaeological collections. The aim of the present paper is to determine the frequency and distribution of dental caries and dental wear in a mediaeval Byzantine paediatric population in Yenikapı, Constantinople, Istanbul. The present research was carried out on the skeletal remains of 1 infant and 28 children with a total of 180 teeth (113 primary and 67 permanent teeth). The frequency of ante-mortem tooth loss in the sample was 1%. The total frequency of carious lesions in the sample was 2.2%. The frequency of dental wear was rather low (3.3%) exhibiting presence of dentin clusters mostly. The present study evaluated an archaeological collection with low dental wear and low dental caries prevalence indicating a fishing community.

Keywords:
Children, Byzantine era, Paediatric population, Dental caries, Dental wear
1.
Asal R: Yenikapı marmaray ve metro kurtarma kazıları buluntuları ışığında İstanbul'un Roma ve Bizans dönemi deniz ticareti. Edirne, Trakya University, 2010.
2.
Balaska N, Selenti N: On the Trade Routes. Journeys on the Seas of Byzantium. Istanbul, Zafiropoulou, 1998, p 63.
3.
Barthelemy I, Telmont N, Crubezy E, Rouge D: Stomatologic and maxillofacial pathology in a medieval population (10th-12th centuries) of southwestern France. Rev Stomatol Chir Maxillofac 1999;100:133-139.
4.
Brabant H: Contribution à l'étude de la paléo-pathologie des dents et des maxillaires. La denture en Belgique à l'époque Néolithique. Bull Inst R Sci Nat Belg 1962;38:6.
5.
Caglar E, Kuscu OO, Sandalli N, Ari I: Prevalence of dental caries and tooth wear in a Byzantine population (13th c. AD) from northwest Turkey. Arch Oral Biol 2007;52:1136-1145.
6.
Caglar E, Kuscu OO: Effect of diet and sugars on caries: dietary counselling, xylitol and probiotics; in Eden E (ed): Evidence-Based Caries Prevention. Berlin, Springer, 2016.
7.
Djuric Srejic M: Dental paleopathology in a Serbian medieval population. Anthropol Anz 2001;59:113-122.
8.
Duyar I, Erdal YS: A new approach for calibrating dental caries frequency of skeletal remains. J Comp Hum Biol 2003;54:57-70.
9.
Erdal YS: Dental Anthropological Analysis of the Iznik Late Byzantine Population; PhD dissertation, Hacettepe University, Ankara, 1996.
10.
Görgülü M: Bizanslıların adli paleodemografisi. Istanbul, Istanbul University, 2009.
11.
Hillson S: Recording dental caries in archaeological human remains. Int J Osteoarchaeol 2001;11:249-289.
12.
Hobdell MH, Oliveira ER, Bautista R, Myburgh NG, Lalloo R, Narendran S, et al: Oral diseases and socio-economic status (SES). Br Dent J 2003;194:91-96.
13.
Kerr NW, Bruce M F, Cross JF: Caries experience in mediaeval Scots. Am J Phys Anthropol 1990;83:69-76.
14.
Koder J: Gemüse in Byzanz: Die Versorgung Konstantinopels mit Frischgemüse im Lichte der Geoponika. Wien, Fassbaender, 1993, p 13.
15.
Koder J: Maritime trade and the food supply for Constantinople in the Middle Ages; in Macrides R (ed): Travel in the Byzantine World. Hampshire, Ashgate Publishing, 2002, p 111.
16.
Lukacs JR: Dental paleopathology: methods for reconstructing dietary patterns; in Iscan MY, Kennedy KAR (eds): Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York, Liss, 1989, pp 261-286.
17.
Lunt DA: The prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition of Scottish prehistoric and mediaeval populations. Arch Oral Biol 1974;19:431-437.
18.
Magdalino P: The maritime neighborhoods of Constantinople. Dumbarton Oaks Papers 2000;54:209-214.
19.
Manzi G, Salvadei L, Vienna A, Passarello P: Discontinuity of life conditions at the transition from the Roman imperial age to the early Middle Ages: example from central Italy evaluated by pathological dento-alveolar lesions. Am J Hum Biol 1999;11:327-331.
20.
Mylonas AI, Poulakou-Rebelakou EF, Androutsos GI, Seggas I, Skouteris CA, Papadopoulou EC: Oral and cranio-maxillofacial surgery in Byzantium. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 2014;42:159-168.
21.
Olsson G, Sagne S: Studies of caries prevalence in a medieval population. Dentomaxillofac Radiol 1976;5:12-18.
22.
Pulak C: ‘Yenikapı Bizans Batıkları' Günışığında İstanbul'un 8000 yılı. Istanbul, Marmary, metro ve Sultanahmet kazilari, 2007, p 208.
23.
Ramoutsaki IA, Dimitriou H, Markaki EA, Kalmanti M: Management of childhood diseases during the Byzantine period. III. Respiratory diseases of childhood. Pediatr Int 2002;44:460-462.
24.
Talbot AM: Old age in Byzantium. Byzantinische Z 1984;77:267-278.
25.
Tattersall I: Dental paleopathology of mediaeval Britain. J Hist Med 1968;23:380-385.
26.
Varrela TM: Prevalence and distribution of dental caries in a late medieval population in Finland. Arch Oral Biol 1992;36:553-559.
27.
Vodanovic M, Brkic H, Slaus M, Demo Z: The frequency and distribution of caries in the mediaeval population of Bijelo Brdo in Croatia (10th to 11th century). Arch Oral Biol 2005;50:669-680.
28.
Watt ME, Lunt DA, Gilmour WH: Caries prevalence in the permanent dentition of a mediaeval population from the south-west of Scotland. Arch Oral Biol 1997;42:601-620.
© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
2016
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.