The incidence of
dental disease among people in developing countries today raises questions about the variation in the oral health of prehistoric populations. Considering these questions, we offer observations describing several types of
dental disease which occurred among certain prehistoric populations of Hungary. The dental remains of 162 individuals recovered from seven sites of the Neolithic,
Copper, and Bronze Age periods were examined for evidence of caries, hypoplasia, and
periodontal disease. Appropriate methods were used to describe and record these dental lesions. The incidence of
dental caries was low by comparison to other prehistoric agriculturists except for two forms of
root caries: cervical and cemental. These types accounted for 68% of all the carious teeth recorded.
Enamel hypoplasia was also lower than expected, occurring on only 4% of the total number of teeth.
Periodontal abscesses were rare but other milder forms of periodontal lesions were frequent. Alveolar
bone resorption occurred in varying degrees and followed the expected age distribution. The few exceptions were children or adolescents whose crania had other lesions suggesting a
mineral metabolic disturbance. The lower incidence of enamel caries is likely due to high
fluoride ingestion which also may have influenced the expression of
enamel hypoplasia. No clear population trends were seen in
dental disease incidence except for cemental caries which were found among
Copper and Bronze Age remains.