An ancient "tooth bridge" made of gold has been found in Scotland

The jaw was found during excavations at the East Church of St Nicholas Parish in Aberdeen. In 2006, the remains of around 900 people and a large number of scattered bones were discovered there. Researchers later re-examined the material as part of a project on the health of Scotland's population in different historical periods.

Details

On one of the lower jaws, they noticed a gold ligature - a thin wire fastened around the incisors. It connected the right lateral and left central lower incisors and could form a bridge of sorts for the missing right central incisor. It could also stabilise a mobile tooth.

Radiocarbon dating showed that the man lived sometime between 1460 and 1670. From skeletal features and tooth wear, the researchers determined that this was a middle-aged man.

The composition of the wire was studied using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy. It turned out that it was made of a gold alloy of about 20 carats. Traces on the teeth indicate that the design had been in the man's mouth for a considerable time before his death, rather than being installed just for burial.

Why it matters

The find shows that attempts to restore teeth existed long before modern dentistry emerged as a profession. In Scotland it is so far the earliest known example of such restorative practice.

The gold construction also speaks of a person's social status. There were goldsmiths in Aberdeen at the time who could make a simple gold wire and fix it to the teeth. But such a procedure clearly required access to expensive material and craft skills, so was probably not available to everyone.

The researchers note that the reason could have been more than just practical. Such a ligature may have helped preserve chewing function, but appearance also mattered: in the late Middle Ages and early Modern period, a person's smile, health and physical appearance could influence how they were perceived in society.

Background

Before the 19th century, dentistry was not yet a separate profession in the modern sense. Teeth were often dealt with by barbers or specialists called dentatores. That said, attempts to treat, stabilise or replace teeth were known in various cultures long before the Modern Age.

Gold and silver ligatures have been found in older archaeological contexts such as Egypt, but some of these constructions may have been installed after death. In the case of the Aberdeen find, the marks on the teeth are important precisely because they indicate lifetime use.

Source

The study by Jenna M. Dittmar et al Restorative dentistry in Early Modern Scotland: archaeological evidence of the use of a gold ligature is published in the British Dental Journal. The authors described the mandible of a man from Aberdeen with a gold ligature, which may have served as a dental bridge or tooth stabiliser.