Who was the first man to get a molar drilling? Turns out to be a person living in Mehrgarh site in western Pakistan about 9000 years back. He must have gone to the dentist to get his teeth cleaned after eating a mastodon. Then the doctor would have suggested deep cleaning as that is the only way dentists make money even now. The patient must have suggested that deep cleaning would be painful since anesthesia was not discovered and before he could complete, the doctor would have knocked him unconcious with a mastodon tusk. Anyway the process was done and his teeth was drilled.
All 9 of the Mehrgarh dental patients were adults — 4 females, 2 males, and 3 individuals of unknown gender — and ranged in age from about 20 to over 40. Most of the drilling was done on the chewing surfaces of their molars, in both the upper and lower jaws, probably using a flint point attached to a bow that made a high-speed drill, the researchers say. Concentric ridges carved by the drilling device were found inside the holes.
The drilling may have been done to relieve the pain and damage of tooth rot, but only 4 of the total of 11 teeth showed signs of decay associated with the holes. The scientists say it is clear that the holes were not made for aesthetic reasons, given their position deep in the mouth and on the erosion-prone surface of the teeth.
While there is no evidence of fillings, the researchers believe something was used to plug the holes because some of them were bored deep into the teeth. What that filler substance was is unknown. The holes ranged in depth from a shallow half-a-millimeter to 3.5 millimeters, deep enough to pierce the enamel and enter the sensitive dentin. [Man Was Enduring the Dentist’s Drill 9,000 Years Ago]
Soon we will find archaeological evidence that the patient is still waiting for payment by the insurance company.
