20 October 2017
The secret history of teeth
The microscopic structure of teeth can reveal information about the person’s health, meaning researchers can analyse teeth from skeletons and use the information to improve aspects of modern healthcare.
Key takeaways:
– Teeth develop at different rates, producing concentric layers like trees
– Trees can provide information about vitamin D deficiencies which can result from insufficient exposure to sunlight
– Identifying links between prenatal vitamin D deficiency and other diseases or early death will be useful
– Your dentist can inform you more about Vitamin D deficiency
“Researchers could look at the abnormalities within those layers to estimate occurrence and severity.”
Read the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/science/teeth-vitamin-d-deficiency-archaeology.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0