Prevalence of oral pathologic findings in an ancient pre-Columbian archeological site in the Atacama Desert.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of oral pathologic findings in an ancient culture that inhabited the Atacama Desert.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A systematic examination was performed on the remains of 83 individuals unearthed from a prehistoric burial ground. A total of 57 skeletal remains achieved appropriate inclusion criteria, from which estimated age at death, gender, ante- and postmortem tooth loss, prevalence and location of caries, apical periodontitis sequela, alveolar bone resorption and attrition were recorded.

RESULTS

From the analyzed skeletal remains (13 male, 22 female and 22 not identifiable), the mean age estimated was 29.9 +/- 13.8 years. A total of 89.4% of them presented permanent dentition with a mean ante-mortem tooth loss of 9.0 teeth and a postmortem mean tooth loss of 14.4 teeth per subject. In all, 46.4% of the postmortem remaining permanent teeth (n = 237) showed caries lesions. Interproximal caries was most frequently observed (31.5%), followed by occlusal (25.9%) and cervical caries (19.4%). Root remnants were found in 23.1% of the cases. In addition, 58.0% of the adults presented attrition, 26.0% signs of apical periodontitis and 44.0% loss of alveolar bone support >5 mm.

CONCLUSION

The remains of jaws and teeth of the individuals examined in this study presented sequelae of severe oral health damage due to caries and periodontal disease.