Caries and attrition: Dependent or independent variables?

Abstract

Maat & Van der Velde (1987) have argued that a generalizable relationship exists between dental attrition and caries rates. They postulated a negative correlation between the two variables; lower rates of caries were associated with higher rates of attrition. They based this conclusion upon an analysis of data from a 17th and 18th century Dutch whaling station on Spitzbergen, together with a survey of literature on European populations over the last thousand years. In this paper we present data from two Portuguese Mesolithic sites questioning the universality of those conclusions. We find a consistently positive correlation between the two variables; higher caries rates are associated with higher attrition rates. The solution to this conundrum appears to be that neither caries nor attrition are directly dependent upon each other. Rather, both are correlated with diet. Different series with different dietary regimes will show different relationships between these two variables, each of which will have to be analyzedde novo.