Periodontal disease in ancient populations

Abstract Recent clinical and anthropological findings indicate that the conventional concept of the pathogenesis of periodontal disease requires review. The periodontal lesion has been defined as a generalised horizontal loss of crestal bone resulting from host immune and inflammatory responses triggered by the action of commensal bacteria, and the extension of gingivitis into the deeper periodontium to become periodontitis has been assumed to occur slowly but steadily over many years. Anthropological and clinical investigations reveal that the widespread loss of crestal tissue is relatively unusual and that lesions of the alveolus are commonly localised and severe. Longitudinal studies have shown that the disease progresses in bursts and is stable in both the gingivitis and periodontal modes in between the burst activity. The findings of the present study demonstrate that generalised horizontal periodontitis has been unusual and has not been responsible for tooth loss. Other factors responsible for deficient alveolar margins in dry bones have been overlooked in most studies, leading to overassessment of the incidence of periodontal disease in postmortem materials; the same assumptions have led to overassessment of periodontal disease in clinical studies and practice.