title: Occlusal variation in the Zuni: a pre-contact North American population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reports of occlusal variation in ancient populations consistently show a low prevalence of malocclusion coupled with heavy attritive wear.
  
  
  METHODS
  The dentitions of 28 individual remains from a pre-contact native North American population were examined and the extent and nature of occlusal variation recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of malocclusion was low (mean IOTN = 2.14) and where crowding existed, was limited to intraarch variability as opposed to inter-arch discrepancies. Increased overbites, overjets and other classical features of Class II malocclusions were almost entirely absent. These findings suggest that the ideal mutually protected Class I occlusion occurs only as a transient juvenile arrangement in nature, where, due to rapid attrition fo lowing establishment of the occlusion, there is an increasing tendency towards mild Class Ill, edge-to-edge incisor and buccal segment relationships.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whilst of limited therapeutic benefit, an understanding of the anthropology of malocclusion provides an insightful perspective, and suggests that function may be of more importance than heredity in its aetiology. It is suggested that future occlusal studies in ancestral populations would benefit from the use of a standard methodology.
authors.affiliation: Whitetree Specialist Centre, Bristol, United Kingdom. aidanmckeever@outlook.com
authors.forename: Aidan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McKeever
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sutcliffe
mesh_terms: D063405:Anatomic Variation; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D049669:History, 16th Century; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000266:history*; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000266:history*; D009516:New Mexico; D019217:Tooth Attrition / Q000266:history