Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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Unlike the physical health of the Fishergate population, the dental health corresponded well with that recorded in other medieval populations. The prevalence rates of post-mortem and ante-mortem tooth loss, cavities, calculus deposits and abscesses were approximately equivalent to those found in most other cemeteries. All dental disease increased with age, with mature adults suffering from the greatest prevalence of all conditions.
The majority of dental diseases were related to poor oral hygiene, which would have consisted of occasional cleaning of the teeth with the fingers or with twigs. This caused the build-up of plaque concretions, leading to periodontitis, abscesses and ante-mortem tooth loss, or alternatively to cavities and ante-mortem tooth loss.
The dental health of males and females was relatively similar, although females were more likely to develop cavities than males. Men, on the other hand, exhibited a greater frequency of dental trauma, which may have been related to interpersonal violence or to activity-related use of the teeth. This reinforces the skeletal observations, where males also exhibited a greater prevalence for trauma and activity-related strain.
Unlike any other type of dental pathology, dental enamel hypoplasia relates to the physical well-being of an individual. This dental manifestation of physical stress, therefore, is closely related to other forms of stress observed in the skeletal pathology. The lesions form during childhood as a result of disease and malnutrition, when the need to survive overrides normal growth patterns. It was found that approximately 52% of the population showed evidence for DEH, and the prevalence of the lesions was higher in females (88%) as compared with males (60%). Additionally, one third of children were found to exhibit the lesions. It is probable that the high pathogen load in this population was the most important factor in the development of the lesions.
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