Frequency of Three-Rooted Mandibular Permanent Molars in Anatolia from the Middle Ages to the Present

Teeth are among the structures of the skeleton which are most resistant against external effects. It has also been put forth in population, family and twin studies examining the impacts of genes and the environment that tooth development is generally affected less from environmental factors and that it has a significant genetic component. It is possible to understand the biocultural kindredship relations, oral health, relationship between oral health and life style and nutritional habits by taking metric measurements from tooth, examining pathologic formations or variations. In our study, three-rooted mandibular permanent molars have been examined from among the root variations in teeth and it has been examined whether there has been any change in Anatolia from the past to the present. Three different populations were examined in our study; two of which were from the Medieval Period and one was current population. It is known that teeth variations differ geographically and that three-rooted mandibular permanent molars are of Asiatic origin. Whereas three-root was not observed in the first molar teeth in our current population, it was observed that the ratio of three-root in the second molar teeth declined significantly from the past to the present. It has been determined in studies carried out on different populations in Turkey that no significant changes have been observed between Anatolian populations of the past and today’s populations and that the ratios are close to each other