Featured series 
Tag: Teeth
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Nation & World
Saving lives in the ICU: Clean teeth
‘Striking’ study suggests daily use of a toothbrush lowers risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia, intensive-care mortality
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Nation & World
A pain in the tooth
Odontoblasts have a newly discovered function: sensing cold, which can trigger pain in teeth. But scientists have also found a way to block the pathway to cold-sensitive teeth.
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Nation & World
Anthropologists dig into fossilized dental plaque for clues to ancient trade
Scientists study ancient human teeth to learn about their surprising diet.
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Nation & World
Reading teeth
By examining the teeth of Neanderthal infants, a team of researchers was able to glean insight into nursing and weaning behavior as well as winter and summer cycles. The study even found evidence that the Neanderthals had been exposed to lead — the earliest such exposure ever recorded in any human ancestor.
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Nation & World
Fish teeth mark periods of evolution
Based on close examination of thousands of fossilized fish teeth, a Harvard researcher found that, while the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs did lead to the extinction of some fish species, it also set the stage for two periods of rapid evolution among marine life.
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Nation & World
Some lessons feel like a root canal, and that’s just fine
Harvard dental students’ hands-on learning provides an affordable option for patients who might otherwise skip dental care.
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Nation & World
Secrets of the narwhal tusk
The narwhal tusk has now been mapped, showing a pathway between the spiral tooth and the narwhal brain. The study reflects how the mysterious animal may use its tusk to suss out its environment.
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Nation & World
Mouthful of clues
Harvard researchers have demonstrated that the levels of barium in teeth correspond with breast-feeding. Importantly, they said, the barium levels can remain in fossils that are thousands of years old. This provides new opportunities to study breast-feeding behavior among Neanderthals and early humans.
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Nation & World
Watching teeth grow
For more than two decades, scientists have relied on studies linking tooth development in juvenile primates with their weaning as a rough proxy for understanding similar landmarks in the evolution of early humans. New research from Harvard, however, challenges that thinking by showing that tooth development and weaning aren’t as closely related as previously thought.
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Nation & World
Teeth marks
A sophisticated examination of teeth from 11 Neanderthal and early human fossils suggests that modern humans’ slow development and long childhood are recent and unique to our own species, and may have given early humans an evolutionary advantage over Neanderthals.
