Η ΟΔΟΝΤΙΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΑΙΓΥΠΤΟ.

The brilliant ancient Egyptian civilization left behind important evidence for scholars to study. A lot of hieroglyphic inscriptions, many texts on papyri and a plethora of archaeological findings are available. Observations of skeletal findings show that the ancient Egyptians suffered from extensive tooth abrasion, a consequence of their diet, leading to abscesses and periapical lesions, bone loss of the alveolar crest, enamel hypoplasia, etc., while the incidence rates of caries was low. Despite the serious dental problems, there is no evidence for operative dentistry. References in medical texts, address dental issues by pharmaceutical prescriptions only. Out of the large number of recipes presented in the lengthy Ebers Papyrus, three sections are of dental interest: treatment of abscesses, tongue and painful teeth. The Edwin Smith Papyrus impressively describes the techniques for the treatment of a fractured mandible and another for its dislocation. However, there is no mention of tooth extraction. According to the inscriptions, there appears to be dentists with a prominent social status, but in limited number. Also, no functional prosthetic restorations have been found, but only post-mortem rehabilitative constructions. To all these, one should add, an element of fiction or supernature, since the Egyptians also believed in the myth of the worm that eats the tooth, as the cause of dental pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]