50 million years ago, primates had tooth decay

50 million years ago, primates had tooth decay

50 million years ago, primates had tooth decay 50 million years ago, primates had tooth decay

Over time, people are likely to develop tooth decay because the sugars in human carbohydrate-rich diets support oral bacteria to release demineralized acids
.

There is now evidence that the problem of tooth decay can be traced back to the early stages of primate evolution-Microsyops latidens is a prehistoric primate that lived in the early Eocene about 54 million years ago.

"When I was studying (fossil) samples, I noticed these holes in their teeth.
I want to know what they are
," said Keegan Selig of the University of Toronto at Scarborough in Canada.

" I saw cavities in the teeth of these creatures.

Selig and colleague Mary Silcox studied the dental fossils of 1,030 individuals collected from the Bighorn Basin in southern Wyoming, USA, and found that 7.
48% of individuals had tooth decay, which is higher than the tooth decay rate of most existing primates— -Except for some capuchins and tamarins
.

According to Selig and Silcox, the cavity of Microsyops latidens is the oldest evidence of cavity in mammals
.

They may like high-sugar foods like fruits, and if they eat too much, they may cause tooth decay

"Obviously, these animals don't have dental floss or toothbrushes, so you might think that tooth decay is everywhere
.

However, it is surprising that tooth decay only forms on the main chewing surface of the tooth

These fossils come from a slightly different age in the ancient rock sequence and therefore provide evidence of the existence of Microsyops latidens for a long period of time (maybe thousands of years)
.

In some samples of the sequence, the incidence of tooth decay is higher.
For example, in a certain layer of samples, 17% of individuals are affected by this

Although the results of the study are interesting, Ian Towle of South Bank University in London pointed out that tooth damage may also be due to a diet rich in acidic foods rather than sugary foods
.

"The method used in the study cannot distinguish between these two types of tissue loss, because both are caused by acid demineralizing the tooth tissue

Related paper information: https://doi.

https://doi.
org/10.
1038/s41598-021-95330-x