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“Cavities are a communicable disease, and if you’re among the 90 percent of Americans who’s ever had one, you probably got them from your mother.”So begins “The Rise and Impending Fall of the Dental Cavity,” a remarkably engrossing and, for me, genuinely eye-opening survey of the history and science of tooth decay, published last week by the pseudonymous Cremieux Recueil on his Substack. The bacterium Streptococcus mutans might not seem like the likeliest subject for a 7,600-word general-interest deep-dive, but Cremieux takes detours into the immaculate teeth of dinosaurs, the practice of Neolithic dentistry, the agricultural and industrial revolutions and their effect on our diets, and the dental agony of America’s founding fathers. Probably, you remember admonitions from childhood that eating candy will rot your teeth, but that story turns out to be a bit simplistic — the problem isn’t that your teeth hate sugar but that Streptococcus mutans loves it. And when it consumes sugar, the byproduct is lactic acid, which is what really starts to eat away at your dental enamel. Not everyone has an oral microbiome dominated by Streptococcus mutans, but chances are if you do, it was passed to you by your parents, very early on — and if you eat any sugar, you’re very likely to suffer tooth decay.
Persons: who’s, , Recueil, Cremieux, Streptococcus mutans
The rare find could help scientists further understand how changes in the human diet have led to the prevalence of cavities today. Uncovered during two excavations from 1993 and 1996, the teeth were among several human teeth and other remains found within a limestone cave in County Limerick in Ireland. One tooth had a surprising abundance of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), an oral bacteria that causes cavities. Researchers also believe the bacteria is not as commonly found within ancient teeth because the human diet included less refined sugar and fewer processed foods than are consumed today, Cassidy said. … ancient teeth can help us understand how the human oral microbiota (range of microorganisms) has evolved over time and the impact of these changes on human health in the past and today,” Humphrey said in an email.
Persons: Lara Cassidy, Cassidy, mutans, , , would’ve, Tannerella, mutans “, Louise Humphrey, ” Humphrey Organizations: CNN, Trinity College Dublin Locations: County Limerick, Ireland, France, London
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