India World's 1st Dentists-9,000 yrs ago

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FROM K.P. NAYAR

 

Washington, April 13:

Indian dentists, perennial runners-up against their Chinese

counterparts in the battle to preserve their reputation and practice,

may at last have something to smile about.

In what could be the earliest example of dentistry in the history of

mankind, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have

discovered that 8,000 to 9,000 years ago dentists in ancient India

had developed technology to drill teeth and remove decay.

 

Study of fossils from Mehgarh, now in Pakistan, has revealed tiny

holes drilled into teeth on the biting surface of male molars,

according to Andrea Cucina who was leading a team of academics

conducting archaeological research on excavations brought to the

university to study Mehgarh's ancient civilisation.

 

Their findings have been published in this week's issue of the

journal, New Scientist.

 

Cucina and his colleagues actually stumbled on ancient India's

heritage in dentistry by accident.

 

They were cleaning the jaws and teeth of one of the Mehgarh fossils

when it was noticed that the molar which was being cleaned had a

perfect, tiny hole on the biting surface. Soon thereafter, a similar

hole was discovered on the molar of another male fossil.

 

The researchers considered several possibilities during the study

that ensued.

 

Since the ancient residents of Mehgarh tilled land, reared livestock

and made jewellery even from stones such as amethyst and turquoise,

Cucina and his team examined the possibility that the holes could be

part of some dental decoration or the result of tooth sharpening.

 

"Even after years and years of looking at these teeth, it was

something that struck me as very strange," Cucina was quoted as

saying in a press release by New Scientist.

 

Since the teeth were still in the jaw, the researchers ruled out the

possibility that the holes were the result of any necklace-making

effort which would have required piercing.

 

Mehgarh's population did not tamper with their teeth as part of any

funeral rites either. "He definitely used that tooth before he died,"

Cucina was quoted as asserting, since the dental cavity had been

rounded from chewing.

 

The jaws of the fossils were then put under electron microscopes: the

sides were found to be too perfectly rounded to be cavities caused by

bacteria. The teeth had concentric grooves which could only have been

made by a drill.

 

That the teeth showed no sign of decay is being interpreted as

testimony to the skills of ancient Indian dentists. The holes were

exactly of the same diameter, suggesting that the residents of pre-

historic Mehgarh had the tools — and the skill — for such delicate

work.

 

The search is now on at the University of Missouri-Columbia for

fossils with signs of dental decay because the researchers say this

would establish that the drilling was therapeutic.

 

Speculation among the research team is that some herbal remedy must

have been put into dental cavities of Mehgarh population to stop

bacterial growth. "It is very tantalising to think they had such

knowledge of health and cavities and medicine to do this," Cucina

said of ancient Indian civilisation.

 

The findings would put Indian dentists one up over their Chinese

counterparts since China had hitherto been credited with great

progress in dentistry in ancient times.

 

As a result of this heritage, Chinese dentists have enjoyed a glowing

reputation worldwide. Even in cities like Mumbai and Calcutta, the

declining band of Chinese dental practitioners have traditionally

taken practice away from Indians.

 

Even if the latest research does not reverse such a trend, Indian

dentists will now have something to hold their heads high.