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People have always had teeth, so, the dental problems related to oral or orthodontic must be there. In fact, accounts of earliest dental problems such as premature loss of tooth, toothaches and tooth decay have been chronicled from time to time. These have been recorded in the civilizations of China and Egyptian manuscripts by the name of Ebyr's Papyri, wherein the people had the first dentist for the treatment of dental problems.
Well, how did it all begin? How did we evolve teeth? The first multi-cellular organism used to eat by surrounding their food with their membranes. Later on, they developed a slit or a gut, alongside tentacles and feelers which helped them with food absorption. Later on, extensive calcification took place and animals began living on land, developed bones and muscles. It was only much later, during the tertiary period of evolution, that the Catarrine Apes developed full fledged teeth.
Fire was discovered and with it the diet and food habits of humans advanced. Now, they were not only able to have raw fish and meat, fruits and nuts, but were also able to grow their own food such as rice, wheat, maize and pulses. With food habits having brought dental problems, they have been mentioned in Egyptian and Chinese records. Toothaches and sore gums were the most commonly reported complaints. In fact, the Chinese prepared a list of nine ailments, and all this commenced 3000 years ago. Skulls petrified in rocks point out the evidence of tooth decay.
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