Study of dental occlusion in ancient human remains: a methodological approach.

The anthropological dental and maxillary study in human skeletal remains usually refers to alterations or conditions of the oral cavity. These alterations could have repercussions on life style, dietary habits and diseases. In this particular context, dental occlusion is not often analyzed due to the fragmented condition of the remains, and especially due to the lack of methodology adapted to study ancient remains. The aim of this study is to propose an anthropological method based on clinical dental practice. In the method presented in this work, odontological parameters such as overjet, overbite, and Angle's Classification of Malocclusion, are evaluated.

Frameshift mutations in dentin phosphoprotein and dependence of dentin disease phenotype on mutation location.

We describe results from a mutational analysis of the region of the dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) gene encoding dentin phosphoprotein (DPP) in 12 families with dominantly inherited dentin diseases. In eight families (five mutations in the N-terminal third of DPP), the clinical and radiologic features were uniform and compatible with dentin dysplasia type II (DD-II) with major clinical signs in the deciduous dentition. In the other families (four mutations in the more C-terminal part), the permanent teeth also were affected, and the diseases could be classified as variants of dentinogenesis imperfecta. Attrition was not prominent, but periapical infections were common. Discoloring with varying intensity was evident, and pulps and root canals were obliterated in the permanent dentition. All mutations caused a frameshift that replaced the Ser-Ser-Asx repeat by a code for a hydrophobic downstream sequence of approximately original length. We conclude that frameshift mutations in DSPP explain a significant part of dentin diseases. Furthermore, we propose that the location of the mutation is reflected in the phenotypic features as a gradient from DD-II to more severe disease that does not conform to the classic definitions of DI-II.