title: Sex differences of dental pathology in early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura in Japan.
abstract: So-called "Ohaguro", teeth blackening, in the married females was a general custom regardless of class in the early modern period. As a result, Ohaguro was thought to have enhanced the acid resistance of tooth substance and tightened gingiva and prevented tooth morbidity due to periodontal disease. For investigation into the influence of Ohaguro, the skeletal remains of early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura were examined for differences in the dental pathology based on sex. Though females from archeological sites have significantly more carious teeth and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) than males in the previous studies, the prevalence of caries and AMTL in males was higher than in females among the early modern samurai and commoners in Kokura. The efficacies of Ohaguro may influence the good dental health of females. On the other hand, as females were considered inferior to males under the feudal system in Japan, males, including children, might tend to consume more nutritious foods compared to females. However, those foods are certainly not better with regard to dental health, since those foods are more highly cariogenic. These factors may have caused higher caries and AMTL prevalence among males compared to females in early modern Kokura.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy and Dental Anthropology, Unit of Basic Medical Sciences, Course of Medical and Dental Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8588, Japan. oyamada@nagasaki-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Joichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oyamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy and Dental Anthropology, Unit of Basic Medical Sciences, Course of Medical and Dental Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Development Center (Dentistry), Nagasaki University Hospital, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Unit of Physical and Occupational Therapy Sciences, Course of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8520, Japan.
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: The Doigahama Site Anthropological Museum, 891-8 Kanda, Houhoku, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, 759-6121, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.affiliation: Department of Macroscopic Anatomy, Unit of Basic Medical Sciences, Course of Medical and Dental Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsurumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy and Dental Anthropology, Unit of Basic Medical Sciences, Course of Medical and Dental Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Manabe
mesh_terms: D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D044466:Asian People; D003466:Cultural Characteristics / Q000266:history*; D003729:Dental Care / Q000266:history*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class / Q000266:history*; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*
keywords: AMTL; Caries; Sex difference; Teeth blackening; The early modern Japan