How do the teeth of people from different races and nations differ from each other?

It turns out that human teeth are not just a part of our body, but also a very interesting object of study that can tell anthropologists a lot about the past of mankind. The shape of the teeth of a modern person, the features of their growth and structure can indicate belonging to a particular race or even to a particular people, so these indicators differ. But what is the difference between the teeth of a European and an Asian, and how do the native Japanese differ from all the other inhabitants of the planet? Today we will talk about this in our material.

The teeth of Europeans are smaller and weaker than those of people in Asia and Africa

Malaysian woman

This circumstance was revealed during the research of the century before last and is confirmed in modern studies. The teeth of the inhabitants of Asia, Africa, the natives of Australia and the Pacific islands are distinguished by larger sizes and better health, compared with immigrants from Europe. This circumstance is explained by the fact that for several centuries European cuisine has been based on deep processing of food, including heat, and it is becoming less and less raw vegetables and fruits, rough unprocessed food. With this method of nutrition, the structure of the jaws evolves towards a decrease in the size of the teeth. But the people of Asia, on the contrary, prefer to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, and also in their menu there are a lot of cereals. For this reason, their teeth are healthier, stronger and larger in size.

Blondes are out of luck

European family

Researchers note that Chinese teeth are almost 2 times less likely to develop caries than European teeth. But what is even more surprising is that among Europeans there are also differences regarding the degree of damage to tooth decay and other diseases. The teeth of brunettes, as a rule, are healthier in comparison with the teeth of fair-haired inhabitants of Europe. Scientists explain this by heredity and the fact that dark-haired people have genes of Asian peoples in their set.

Peoples of Southeast Asia have a convex shape of teeth

Resident of the philippines

Malays, Filipinos and their closest neighbors have a more peculiar form of incisors, which distinguishes them, for example, from Europeans and other residents of Asia. They have a round, convex shape of teeth, which refers us to the recent past - our ancient ancestors had a similar shape of teeth. This feature has been preserved in some peoples living on the islands.

Not everyone has wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are considered a relic of the past, and they are less and less common among modern inhabitants of the planet. This is all explained by the same transition to softer and processed foods, when the need to intensively chew on coarse plant foods disappears. Among Europeans, wisdom teeth are extremely rare, while among residents of Asia and Africa they can still be found quite often.

Different molars of the lower jaw

In the vast majority of people, the molar chewing teeth (molars) of the upper jaw have three roots, and the teeth of the lower jaw have two roots. But there are some exceptions to this rule. This is primarily Japan, almost a quarter of the inhabitants of which have three roots in the first molar of the lower jaw. In addition, the percentage of this trait is high among the inhabitants of Thailand and Malaysia, and also occurs in 16% of the Eskimos - the indigenous inhabitants of the North American tundra. Anthropologists note that this feature is inherited by the modern peoples of Asia and the indigenous people of North America from the Denisovans. But among the inhabitants of the African continent such a feature is practically not found: in only 3% of the inhabitants, three roots can be found in the molar of the lower jaw.