Dead kings', queens', pharaohs' teeth, what condition were they in?

[raccoon]

Anybody know anything to share about this? I'm curious. I read a book called GLOBAL PROBLEMS AND THE CULTURE OF CAPITALISM in which the author said that since about 1600, Westerners have a lot more sugar in their diets than previously. If that's true, my guess is it would have a negative impact on people's teeth.

[LibertyLover]

1. While I can't speak to all the condition of all the pharaohs' teeth,

a number of the royal mummies in the Cairo Museum show evidence of horrible dental health. Teeth worn down to the pulp and severe abscesses. Several pharaohs had such horrible dental conditions that they must have been in terrible pain. The cause was not sugar, of course, or honey, the sweetener used at the time, but rather sand in the food, in particular the bread, from the grinding process.

[izzie]

2. I read once that until our times

EVERYONE had bad teeth. I often wondered about that. Just in my age, I am in my 70's , the change in care has been really wild. When I was a child we were one of three kids who saw a dentist when we were children and young kids. We were made fun of but my sister and I and one other girl had to go to dentist and we went. Most kids just had pain and they often let baby teeth just rot out. We even had a women dentist we saw. But you must re-call that all medical had to be paid in cash and a small Maine town was not really rich even if people were working. Most people had no car yet my mother had her own car and so did my father. We also saw a doctor and it was an age when the state did TB test and a nurse at school did a lot of things and sent people on to doctors if need be. If it was this bad when you had little money to see a dentist just think of the care when they knew so little about how to care for your teeth. I bet no one cared for their teeth as they just did not know how. By the way I have all my own teeth. Early care worked with us.