title: A comparison of female and male oral health in skeletal populations from late Roman Britain: implications for diet.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Textual sources from the Roman period point to the existence of dietary differences between the sexes. The aim of this study was to assess the palaeopathological evidence for such gender differences in dietary habits in Roman Britain by comparing the oral health of sexed individuals from two late Romano-British sites (Ancaster, Lincolnshire, and Winchester, Hampshire, England).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-seven females (1243 teeth and 1950 sockets) and 112 males (1984 teeth and 2903 sockets) were examined for the presence of five dento-alveolar conditions, namely caries, calculus, periapical lesions, periodontal disease, and antemortem tooth loss. The frequency of each condition was calculated at the per individual and per tooth/socket level, and the results were compared between the sexes using Fisher's exact tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caries and antemortem tooth loss were slightly more common among women, but differences between the sexes were generally not significant. Males experienced higher rates of calculus and periodontal disease. There were no sex differences in the frequency of periapical lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comparable rates of caries, periapical lesions and antemortem tooth loss in females and males indicate broad similarity in the diets of men and women. The greater levels of calculus and periodontal disease in males might point to some dietary differences, but could also be explained by non-dietary factors. Overall, the findings suggest that significant gender differences in diet, described in some contemporaneous textual sources, were not widely observed in Roman Britain.
authors.affiliation: University of Edinburgh, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, Mid Lothian EH8 9AG, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Laura.Bonsall@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonsall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000266:history*; D018644:Roman World; D012737:Sex Factors; D014070:Tooth / Q000473:pathology*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People
keywords: Dento-alveolar pathology; Diet; Gender; Roman Britain; Sex