Dental caries prevalence of medieval Korean people.
OBJECTIVE
Prevalence and distribution of dental caries in medieval Korean society were evaluated.


METHODS
Two thousand and nine hundred teeth samples of 126 individuals collected from 16th to 18th century Korean tombs.


RESULTS
Preservation status of sample was good. The prevalence of ante- and postmortem tooth loss was 4.4% and 14.2%, respectively. The total caries prevalence was 3.9%. The tooth surface most frequently affected by dental caries was occlusal (4.5%), followed by approximal (2.1%), buccal (1.5%), and lingual (1.1%) surfaces.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of dental caries in Joseon Dynasty skeleton collection was lower than have been found in other collections of similar chronology. The low consumption of refined sugar in medieval Korean society might be a possible explanation, though the technical limitations inherent in such comparison studies preclude definitive conclusions.
Han
Sun Sook
SS
Dept of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Yongon-dong, Chongno-Gu, South Korea. hss9438@empal.com
Baek
Kyung-won
KW
Shin
Myung Ho
MH
Kim
Jaehyup
J
Oh
Chang Seok
CS
Lee
Sang Jun
SJ
Shin
Dong Hoon
DH
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000266:history*; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000266:history; D055815:Young Adult