A 59,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth discovered in a Siberian cave shows evidence of deliberate drilling to treat a deep cavity, suggesting that early forms of dentistry existed far earlier than previously believed. Researchers say the find pushes back the earliest known evidence of dental treatment by around 45,000 years.
The lower second molar, affected by suspected bacterial decay, bears clear marks of stone-tool intervention carried out in a controlled, multi-stage process that reached down to the tooth pulp, News.Az reports, citing New Scientist.
According to Kseniya Kolobova at the Russian Academy of Sciences, the procedure would likely have been extremely painful but may have provided relief, with signs indicating the individual continued to use the tooth for chewing for years after the treatment.
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