Dental Pathology at Promtin Tai: an Iron Age Cemetery from Central Thailand

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to further understand the dental health of Thailand and Southeast Asia. An analysis of dental pathology frequencies were conducted using recently excavated remains from the Iron Age site of Promtin Tai in Thailand. Carious lesions, advanced attrition, antemortem tooth loss, and abscessing were scored and the frequencies were then compared to other sites within Thailand. Preliminary work suggests that the overall pathology rate at the Promtin Tai site is lower than other known sites within Thailand. The total caries rate of 0.5 percent at Promtin Tai represents a statistically significant difference in total caries rates between the coastal, central, and Khorat Plateau regions of Thailand. Because this is the first site in the central region to be analyzed for dental pathology, comparisons can only be made to sites of a similar time period from the Khorat Plateau (Eastern Thailand) and coastal Thailand. This new analysis may give insight about how the transition to rice agriculture affects the dentition. It also furthers the knowledge of dental health within Iron Age Thailand and Southeast Asia.