Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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Cavities develop as a result of aggressive bacterial attack in the presence
of dietary sucrose (Hillson 1996, 282) and fermentable carbohydrates (White
and Folkens 2000), although they are multifactoral in origin (Roberts and
Manchester 1995, 47). Thus, cavities became more prevalent once cane sugar
was available to the greater majority of people from the 17th century onwards
(Moore and Corbett 1975). Although a relatively large proportion of the adult
population at Fishergate House suffered from cavities (48% of males and 68%
of females), only a small overall number of teeth were affected (12% of male
teeth and 10% of female teeth), even though ante-mortem loss of 12% of teeth
(many of which were probably lost as a consequence of caries) may have resulted
in an underestimation of caries prevalence rates (Plate
29, right).
It is frequently difficult to compare dental pathology from different populations, as a variety of systems of analysis, recording and reporting are used. However, it was found that an overall prevalence of 34.8% of caries per individual at Fishergate House was considerably lower than the prevalence from other urban medieval sites in York, such as Jewbury (59.5%) and St Helen's-on-the-Walls (73%), but the prevalence rate was similar to that from St Nicholas Shambles, where 40% of jaws had dental caries. However, the prevalence rate of caries by tooth in the total population was only 5% and resembles that from Hull Magistrate's Court (6.7%), Blackfriars (7.3%) and St Nicolas Shambles (5.5%), but was lower than the late medieval rate of caries at St Andrew's (12.1%).
The prevalence of caries increased with age, with the greatest number in the mature adult group (37%), and few carious lesions in any of the deciduous teeth (1.8%). This was unlike Hull Magistrate's Court, where the greatest number of cavities was found in the deciduous teeth (10.5%) and may be related to a sucrose-rich diet, not available to the poorer children from Fishergate House.
Cavities were most likely to develop in fissures and pits, where bacteria could act undisturbed. The molars are most susceptible to bacterial attack as they are more difficult to reach with dental cleaning instruments and have the greatest number of fissures. This trend can still be observed in modern British populations. All cavities were found to affect the tooth crown, rather than the junction between the crown and root. The majority of lesions were found on the distal or medial surfaces of the crown, probably because food residue tends to accumulate in the gaps between the teeth. Forty percent of the lesions were large and affected the whole crown, while equal proportions of the remaining lesions were small or of medium size.
Tartar deposits adhered to more than half of teeth with cavities, suggesting that caries may have developed as a result of general poor oral hygiene. Additionally, 19% of cavities were associated with dental abscesses, indicative of bacteria entering the gums and causing infection around the tooth roots.
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