A Dental Prosthesis from the Early Modern Age in Tuscany (Italy).
Clin Implant Dent Relat Res
; 19(2): 365-371, 2017 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27804261
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
During archaeological excavation, carried out in the S. Francesco Monastery at Lucca (Tuscany, Italy), a golden dental appliance was discovered. The prosthesis was found, together with commingled human remains, in the collective tomb of the aristocratic family of the Guinigi, a powerful family who governed Lucca from 1392 until 1429. The exact archaeological dating of the prosthesis was not possible, but some elements suggest a dating to the beginning of the 17th century.PURPOSE:
Aim of the paper is to study and describe the dental appliance trough a multidisciplinary approach. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Macroscopical and micro-CT examinations were performed to investigate the technics used for the realization of the dental prosthesis. SEM analysis was performed to study alloy composition of the metallic fixing lamina and microstructure of the deposits on the dental surface.RESULTS:
The dental prosthesis consists in five mandibular teeth three central incisors and two lateral canines linked together by a golden band inserted into the dental roots to replace the anterior arch of the jaw. Micro-CT scan revealed the presence of two small golden pins inserted into each tooth crossing the root and fixing the teeth to the internal gold band. SEM examination of the lamina indicated a homogeneous composition, with average contents of 73 wt% gold, 15.6 wt% Ag, and 11.4 wt% Cu. Apposition of dental calculus on the teeth indicated that the prosthesis had been worn for a long period.CONCLUSIONS:
This dental prosthesis provides a unique finding of technologically advanced dentistry in this period. In fact, during the Early Modern Age, some authors described gold band technology for the replacement of missing teeth; nevertheless, no direct evidences of these devices have been brought to light up so far.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Prótese Dentária
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Clin Implant Dent Relat Res
Assunto da revista:
ODONTOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália