marked occupational dental abrasion from medieval kent

International Journal of OsteoarchaeologyInt. J. Osteoarchaeol. 13: 168–172 (2003)Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/oa.646

SHORT REPORT

Marked Occupational Dental Abrasionfrom Medieval KentGRAHAM TURNERa AND TREVOR ANDERSONb,*a 20 Falcon Close, Haxby, York YO32 3NY, UKb Vichy House, Canterbury, Kent, UK

ABSTRACT A medieval male skeleton displays marked dental abrasion which is considered to beoccupational, possible related to carpentry. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key words: dental abrasion; occupational; iron carpentry nails; medieval Kent; Stonar

The material

The examination of 70 adult dentitions froma medieval cemetery at Stonar, near Sandwichin Kent revealed one case of marked dentalabrasion in a 30–40 year old male. The mostsevere changes involve the anterior maxillaryteeth (Figures 1 and 5). The right incisors display awedge-shaped loss of enamel and dentine superiorto the distal cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) andconcave abrasion of the mesial aspect of theircrowns. The larger distal defect, on the centralincisor, is c. 3 mm deep with a maximum width of3 mm. The mesial abrasion of the lateral extendsfrom the incisal edge to the CEJ (Figures 1 and 5).

The mesial and distal aspects of the left centralincisor display marked abrasion. Only a 1 mmwide central enamel projection is visible (Figures 1and 5). The left lateral presents with mesialabrasion. The distal CEJ of the first right premolaralso displays a concave abrasion with a lineardefect at its deepest point.

In the mandible, a right canine, a right cen-tral incisor and a left second premolar were notrecovered from the excavation site. Only a mesialsliver of the right lateral incisor crown is intact

* Correspondence to: Vichy House, 15 St Mary’s Street, Canterbury,Kent CT1 2QL, UK.

(Figure 1). Concave abrasions are demonstrableon the mesial and distal surfaces of the rightand left lateral crowns, respectively. The buccalaspect of the right molars display a narrow linearabrasion just below the CEJ (Figure 2). A simi-lar, although wider abrasion is visible on the leftmolars (Figure 3).

The attrition follows the normal pattern and aclear reversed or anti-curve of Monson has beenestablished i.e. the greatest wear occurs on thebuccal aspect of the lower molar and the palatalaspect of the upper molar crowns (Hillson, 1996:Figure 11.4). In our specimen, there is evidencethat attrition was more marked on the left side.All third molars appear to have been congenitallyabsent. Interstitial carious cavities were the onlyother dental pathology. All are mandibular andinvolve the mesial aspect of both first molars andthe distal aspect of both right premolars.

Discussion

Marked attrition, reaching the CEJ, is notunusual in archaeological material. In post-medieval material, smooth concave abrasion ofthe occlusal surfaces of the anterior teeth occursdue to the habitual smoking of a clay-pipe(Anderson, 2002: Figure 2). Even modern tobacco

Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 25 April 2002Revised 27 August 2002

Accepted 12 September 2002

Marked Occupational Dental Abrasion 169

Figure 1. Stonar (SK 18): dentition showing abnormal, irregular marked abrasion, related to occupation?

Figure 2. Right mandible of Stonar (SK 18): the second molar displays a buccal linear groove involving the upper portion of theroot. A similar positioned very faint groove involves the distal root of the first molar.

Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 13: 168–172 (2003)

170 G. Turner and T. Anderson

Figure 3. Left mandible of Stonar (SK 18): the second molar displays a linear buccal abrasion of the upper portion of the root. Thefirst molar displays a wider abrasion, extending from the CEJ to the root bifurcation.

pipes may produce a similar concave abrasion(Stones, 1957: Figure 281).

The chewing of hard objects and the mas-tication of materials such as leather or ropewould result in marked regular attrition ofthe tooth crowns, possibly with linear groovesocclusally (Larsen, 1985). This is quite dissim-ilar to the present case with irregular, sharpabrasions. Although one author (TA) has exam-ined over 2000 archaeological specimens, thisis the first case he has seen of such irregularabrasion.

Nor does the overall appearance, varyingdegrees of involvement and asymmetrical presen-tation support deliberate mutilation. Such dentalmutilations appear to be largely confined toAfrica, North, South and Meso-America (Milner& Larsen, 1991).

It appears that the maxillary abrasion is relatedto occupational activity. Possibly, we are dealingwith a carpenter who repeatedly held nailsbetween his teeth (Figure 4). Certainly, examplesof iron nails known to date from the medievalperiod appear to fit very accurately into themaxillary abrasions (Figures 5 and 6).

Figure 4. Medieval iron carpentry nails recovered from theroof of Durham cathedral. Lengths: 66–68 mm; rectangularin cross-section at their heads (6 × 5 mm) tapering to a2 mm point.


Marked Occupational Dental Abrasion 171

Figure 5. Stonar (SK 18): palatal view (R3-L4) of the maxillary dentition showing abnormal, irregular marked abrasion of each incisor.

Figure 6. Stonar (SK 18): palatal view of the maxillary dentition with the nails (Figure 4) fitting accurately into the anteriorincisal abrasions.


172 G. Turner and T. Anderson

The aetiology of the mandibular lesions are lessclear. The smooth concave mesial abrasions onthe right second premolar and the right lateralincisor may be the result of holding softer shorterobjects. The linear buccal grooves on the molarssuggest repeated rubbing of coarse thread orstring. Indeed, modern dentistry has shown thatvigourous use of dental floss silk, especially whencoated with toothpaste, can produce deep linearabrasions near the gum margin (quoted in Stones,1957: 258). According to Stones, the use ofabrasive dentifrice may result in upto 3.5 mm lossof tooth surface in 7.6 years Stones (1957: 258).

Conclusion

A medieval male skeleton from Kent displaysmarked dental abrasion of the anterior teeth,which appears to be occupational. Although wecannot be certain of the aetiology, medieval ironnails appear to fit into the incisal abrasions veryprecisely. This suggests that the individual may

have followed the occupation of carpenter formany years. The authors would be most interestedto hear of similar examples and differentialdiagnoses of what appears to be an extremelyunusual form of dental abrasion.

References

Anderson T. 2002. Unusual dental abrasion frommedieval Kent. British Dental Journal 192: 2.

Hillson S. 1996. Dental Anthropology. Cambridge Uni-versity Press: Cambridge, UK.

Larsen CS. 1985. Dental modifications and tool use inthe western Great Basin. American Journal of PhysicalAnthropology 67: 393–402.

Milner GR, Larsen CS. 1991. Teeth as artifacts ofhuman behavior: intentional mutilation and acci-dental modification. In Advances in Dental Anthropology,Kelley MA, Larsen CS (eds). Wiley-Liss: New York;357–378.

Stones HH. 1957. Oral and Dental Diseases. E. & S.Livingstone Ltd: Edinburgh.


marked occupational dental abrasion from medieval kent

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