“Orthodontistry” and dental occlusion in Etruscans
Abstract
Specimens dating back to the VIII Century B.C. indicate Etruscans may have been the first people to employ orthodontic bands to improve tooth alignment. A survey of dental occlusion in Etruscan cranial remains, however, shows very good typical occlusion and almost no crowding. Thus, these people do not represent the earliest development of epidemiologically high prevalence of malocclusion, a feature instead reserved for the later industrial world.
Contributor Notes
Dr. Corruccini is Professor of Physical Anthropology at Southern Illinois university at Carbondale. His PhD degree in dental anthropology is from the University of California at Berkeley
Dr. Pacciani is Paleobiologist with the Superintendency for Archeology of Tuscany, Florence, Italy and is a laureate of the University of Florence