Cerámica prehispánica y hallazgos arqueológicos: apreciación estética desde la perspectiva odontológica / Prehispanic ceramics and archeological findings: esthetic appreciation from the dental perspective

Son muchas y muy diversas las formas en las que el ser humano ha dejado muestra de su evolución. Dentro de estas manifestaciones se encuentran interesantes expresiones a las que hoy denominamos artísticas, tales como la expresión gráfica y la escultura. El presente artículo es un trabajo de investigación documental sobre la correspondencia que existe entre el diseño de la cerámica prehispánica y los hallazgos arqueológicos de restos humanos, particularmente en mutilaciones y limaduras dentarias. Se destaca la observación de los tipos dentales identificados en la cerámica arqueológica y su relación con los tipos de formas de mutilación dentaria clasificados por Romero J. Es de especial interés considerar el posible propósito estético de las limaduras dentarias, principalmente de los dientes anteriores, y cómo con base a un análisis longitudinal, la odontología actual considera importante los aspectos estético y funcional.

They are many and very diverse forms that the human being has left traces of their evolution. Within these, we can find very important expressions that we could call in this day artistic, like the graphic expression or the sculpture. This article is a documented investigation over the relationship between the design of prehispanic ceramic and the archaeological findings of human remains, particularly on dental filings and mutilations. We highlight the observation of varied dental types within the archaeological ceramic and the relationship of these with different types of dental mutilations classified as post-Romero J. It is interesting to consider the possibility of aesthetic purpose of the dental filings, mainly on the front teeth, and how when we do a long analysis, the actual dentistry takes into account both aspects, the functional and the aesthetic.

The Vikings bare their filed teeth.

Finds of deliberate dental modification have for the first time been found in archaeological human skeletal material from Europe. The type of modification is a horizontally filed furrow on the frontal upper part of the tooth crown. The furrows are single or, more usually, multiple, and are found on the front teeth in the maxilla. The affected individuals are 24 men from the Viking Age (ca. 800-1050 AD), found in present day Sweden and Denmark. The marks are so well-made that it is most likely they were filed by a person of great skill. The reason for, and importance of, the furrows are obscure. The affected individuals may have belonged to a certain occupational group (such as tradesmen), or the furrows could have been pure decoration.

Anterior dental aesthetics: historical perspective.

The purpose of this series is to convey the principles governing our aesthetic senses. Usually meaning visual perception, aesthetics is not merely limited to the ocular apparatus. The concept of aesthetics encompasses both the time - arts such as music, theatre, literature and film, as well as space - arts such as paintings, sculpture and architecture.

Dentistry between pathology and cosmetics.

In ancient and medieval times, the prevalence of caries and periodontal disease varied. There were no treatments for dental hard tissue, but dental cosmetics played an important role. In the late 19th century, caries levels reached a maximum in Europe and North America after refined sugar became a cheap staple food. Toothlessness became frequent even in young adults. Caries prevention, effective on a public health scale, began with the introduction of water fluoridation in the 1940s. By 1985, dental academia had acknowledged that substantial declines could also be obtained in entire populations through topical fluorides, mainly in toothpastes. While decreasing caries prevalence is irrefutable in affluent countries, the specific reasons of the decline are still a matter of debate. In countries where caries has declined substantially, activities of dentists are shifting towards cosmetic dentistry. However, caries continues to be a problem for the lower socioeconomic strata, even in affluent countries, and is a serious problem in developing countries. Thus, water fluoridation is still important, and salt fluoridation should be considered where water fluoridation is not feasible. Both measures are extremely cheap to implement. Controlled fluoridation has a great potential for developing countries and low social strata of affluent countries. Its reduced effectiveness in high socioeconomic strata of affluent countries, due to the widespread usage of fluoride in toothpastes and other oral care products, should not detract from the public health value of fluoridation.

[Esthetic dentistry in the prehispanic world]. / Estética dental en el mundo prehispánico.

The dental practices found by Spaniards in the new world in the sixteenth century were totally different from the ones done in Europe at that time. They were of two types, ornamental and curative. This paper displays the diverse types of ornamental dental practices performed in pre-Hispanic America, which have nothing to do with the concept of Odontology, as the object of these practices was to impart a type of dental aesthetics different from the classical concept of beauty. Outstanding among such practices were inlays, filing and polishing of teeth, and their pigmentation.