Ancient Mayans used precious metal, gems and stone for dental treatment
For archaeologists and historians artefacts and objects of the past reveal a lot about the period and people they belong to and so do teeth of ancient human beings and cultures. Take for instance the ancient Maya who gave a lot of importance to their teeth as per a report in sciencealert.com and had them filled with jade, gold, jet, turquoise or hematite gems. Irrespective of their gender or economic status, men and women from across the society paid a visit to the dentist to have their teeth drilled and filled with minerals, expensive stones and jewels. While the inlays which survived the individual’s lifetime had a spiritual significance there was more to it than just aesthetics as a new study suggests that the material used for cementing the gems to the teeth had therapeutic and hygienic attributes. The adhesive used held the gems in place for not just a lifetime but thousands of years and the ingredients used to make it had properties and potential to combat tooth decay and also ch