The Wisdom in the Tooth: The Measurement and Analysis of Interglobular Dentine in a Sample of Teeth from 19th Century Madrid, Spain

Abstract

Interglobular dentine (IGD), a tooth mineralization defect, is associated with vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and its resultant conditions (e.g., rickets). Using a sample of 44 infant and child teeth (34 deciduous; 10 permanent) from 26 individuals (aged 7 months in-utero – 6 years) from pre-industrial (19th century CE) Madrid, Spain, this thesis provides insight into the health of both mothers and their children by answering the following research questions: (1) How can the amount of IGD in an entire tooth be quantified rather than in a “region of interest”? (2) How can this methodology contribute to the interpretation of the IGD data using the mother-infant nexus as a theoretical framework? (3) How can the IGD data be used to understand the risks of VDD in infants and their mothers in Spain during the 19th century? The results of this study indicated that 21 of 26 individuals, who had skeletal evidence of rickets, had at least one tooth with evidence of IGD (33/44 teeth). The amount of IGD present ranged between 0.05% - 26.22% relative to the surrounding unaffected dentine area. Of the 33 teeth with evidence of IGD, 15 had an episode of IGD ending before the onset of weaning (i.e., <10 months of age), with 13 teeth belonging to individuals who had skeletal evidence of rickets. These results indicate that the VDD experienced by the infants from this study were likely a result of the health and/or the cultural practices of the mother. The objective measurement of IGD amounts, timing, and length of the episodes recorded, in combination with historic literature provide insight into the health, socio-economic status and environmental conditions of women and children in 19th century Spain.