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On teeth & carbs
On the plane to NoLa I was reading _The Man in the Ice: The Discovery of a 5,000 Year-Old Body Reveals the Secrets of the Stone Age_ by Konrad Spindler. I found this paragraph on p. 183 interesting.
Finally, we should mention a negative diagnosis. The Iceman's teeth were entirely free from caries. An important cause of tooth decay is the fermentation in the mouth of carbohydrates, such as sugar and finely ground flour, though the action of micro-organisms. In Europe a progressive incident of caries has been noted since the Neolithic, more dramatically so since the Middle Ages. Its incident today is more than 99 percent. With his healthy set of teeth the Iceman predates the onset of this deplorable development.
Finally, we should mention a negative diagnosis. The Iceman's teeth were entirely free from caries. An important cause of tooth decay is the fermentation in the mouth of carbohydrates, such as sugar and finely ground flour, though the action of micro-organisms. In Europe a progressive incident of caries has been noted since the Neolithic, more dramatically so since the Middle Ages. Its incident today is more than 99 percent. With his healthy set of teeth the Iceman predates the onset of this deplorable development.