My very first root canal resulted in a totally lost tooth less than six months later. Every time I heard “root canal” after that I said no, just pull it now and save me the professional reasoning and unnecessary extra charges. Three molar teeth were pulled/lost over time.

My question, if history is even remotely legit, how do older skeletons seem to have a complete or decent set of teeth on their skull? I understand life spans have changed, but I also had my first root canal in my twenties, so it is not just that everyone died younger.

No more flouride, no more amalgam (mercury fillings under a pretty name), no no no...

I suppose it is easier to identify dental records when you hack away at everyone’s face over time, and they used to regularly use dental records to identify a deceased person after an accident or whatever.