Our teeth say much more about us than we would like to reveal ourselves. Research shows that they can be a faithful record of all human life - just like the rings of a tree, because not only the passage of time, but also all its key moments leave a permanent mark on them. This breakthrough was made by scientists from New York University.
It is not without reason that life experiences are said to be reflected in the eyes and the amount of wrinkles. It turns out, however, that the teeth also register key moments in life. New York University researchers found thatis a unique record of life's turning points.- The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The research was conducted by scientists from the Department of Anthropology and the College of Dentistry at NYU. They show that the teeth are not a static and dead bone structure: the"biological archive"hidden in them may reflect the impact of all key physiological processes and events on the body, including childbirth or systemic diseases.
How did they come to such conclusions? a tooth is embedded. From the moment the tooth is cut from the gum, successive layers begin to form in the root cement similar to rings, i.e. annual growths that arise in trees as they grow.
- This is an amazing discovery. Research shows that, like tree rings, there is also a kind of tooth "ring" in the form of a developing layer of tissue on the surface of the tooth root.It turns out that just as the growth rings reveal the history of a tree, this dental tissue can reflect human development, constantly adapt and react to the physiological processes that accompany us- comments Monika Stachowicz, dentist from Centrum Periodent in Warsaw.
Scientists say that these bands are a faithful "archive" of personal experiences such as pregnancy, illnesses, social isolation and menopause. These situations leave behind permanent changes in the cement microstructure, both in women and men.
To confirm their theory, the research team examined nearly 50 tooth samples of people aged 25 and overup to 69 years, taken from the skeletons of people with a known medical history and lifestyle information such as age and disease.
Thanks to the imaging techniques usedscientists were able to observe bands or rings in the cement structure and connect each of these bands with different life stages,thus showing the relationship between important life events and formation of the dentition.
- This shows how valuable scientific material for many groups of researchers can be teeth, which can be seen on the example of this little studied tissue, which is the root cement. We are certainly able to read from them much more than the level of oral hygiene or diseases that are reflected in their condition, e.g. diabetes or osteoporosis - concludes the dentist.