Last week, the Tooth Fairy in all her glory visited the students at my school to remind them of the essentials of dental care:
1. Brush at least twice a day
2. Floss daily
3. Visit the dentist twice a year
4. Eat and drink dairy products
Sound and solid advice according to conventional wisdom. Pretty much the same things I was told as a child and into my graduate studies.
How many of you were raised in a rural area without public water and did the monthly flouride mouthwash at school? Definitely a memory for me; not a good one either.
This evening I was looking through health articles and came across one that mentioned prehistoric populations had better teeth than we do. As a fan of the Paleo/Primal lifestyle, I had heard such claims before. Just not something I followed up on researching, but after reading the article, I am going to further examine the evidence.
The archaelogical evidence seems to suggest that in general, pre-agricultural humans had perfectly spaced teeth and no cavities. What?!? You mean those dirty, grunting, no Crest having, much less a toothbrush primitives had a leg up on oral health? How could that be true? I'll respect your intelligence and ability to read for yourself, but the answer seems to be diet. According to archaeological record, human remains didn't show evidence of tooth decay until after agriculture became established.
So, what might this imply in the big picture? Possibly that eating large amounts of processed grain and sugary foods created a less favorable oral environment.
Here's the article. Study Finds Historic Root of Tooth Decay
What do you think? Combine this evidence with claims of the Weston A. Price Foundation concerning hunter gatherer populations and oral health. I'm pretty sure I will continue to require my son to brush his teeth, but the mouth rinse may need to go.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. Later y'all.
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