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Michael Guanuna
Professor: Rachelle Handley
Course: Anthropology 1020
04/23/2015
Signature Assignment
This article review gives a detailed discussion of the article Toothpicking and Periodontal
Disease in a Neanderthal Specimen from Cova Forad Site (Valencia, Spain) as published by Marina
Lozano , Maria Eullia Subir, Jos Aparicio, Carlos Lorenzo, Gala Gmez-Merino in October 16, 2013.
The major problem is the periodontal disease in Neanderthal maxilla where people are attempting to
reduce the pain physically with the use of a toothpick. The article opens up by explaining what a
toothpick is. The use of toothpick to remove food remains trapped between the teeth takes a long history,
but the dentists do not yet recommend their use.
The use of toothpick dates back to early man, with people making use of the toothpicks up to the
modern current days. As quoted in the article, the aim of the study was to show the relationship between
the use of toothpicks and an attempt to alleviate sore gums. The research was carried out in Cova Forad
which is a cave located in the middle of the central Mediterranean coast on the Iberian Peninsula. The
only regulation that accompanied the study was the Law 9/1993, 30th of September, Catalan cultural
heritage (DOGC number 1807, 11.10.1993). The research made use of three materials; three teeth present
in situ in the articulated right and left adult maxilla.
These materials were analyzed and examined for oral pathologies such as periodontal disease,
dental caries, dental calculus and abscesses. The article also outlines the results that were obtained from
the research. The three materials that included preserved maxillary teeth had heavy dental wear. The
article came to conclusion that there is no relationship between dental caries, dental calculus, abscesses or

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bone perforation and the cyst in the Cova Forad dentition. This is because the research never came with
any supportive evidence. However, periodontal disease has been associated with the porous appearance of
the alveolar in the teeth.
The article comes in to conclusion that the periodontal disease and heavy dental wear, among its
causal agents is the use of toothpicks. As documented in the article, the complex cognitive and behavioral
capabilities of the Neanderthals have increased over the past years. During the use of toothpick, there is
wear and tear of the dental crown. Scratching and enamel chipping during the use of toothpicks is
associated with the loss of the majority of the dental crown. The consequent wear and tear due to use of
toothpicks are associated with interproximal grooves which are related to heavy dental wear and
periodontal disease. This is evident by the interproximal grooves that have been widely documented on
the teeth of fossil populations.
The use of toothpick can be viewed as hygienic. For instance, the culture of the Neanderthals
from El Sidrn Cave (Spain) bounds them to sharing of common practices that include the use of herbal
medicines. In a way, their knowledge of use of medical plants could have contributed to the use of wood
toothpicks in an attempt to reduce sore gums. However, the use of toothpicks from plants to reduce the
sore gums can be considered rudimentary dental treatment as evident from the research.
In conclusion, there are many causes and modern control measures of mitigating the effects of
periodontal disease. However, the article takes into consideration the ancient method that is in a way
documented as a mitigating factor to sore gums. This is the use of wooden toothpicks. The article
concludes that the habit of using a tool to pick the teeth can be considered as early evidence of medical
treatment to alleviate sore gums.

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Work cited
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076852