Earlier this year the body of King Richard III was discovered underneath a parking lot in Leicester, England. He was buried in this spot (formerly the site of the Grey Friars Church) in 1485 after dying from massive blows to the head sustained during the Battle of Bosworth in the War of Roses.
He was the last English king to die in battle. Researchers examined his teeth and concluded that he ground his teeth due to an overwhelming amount of stress. It is supposed that much of this stress was caused by guilt after he murdered his brothers in order to become the King of England. Researchers also concluded that he had an alarming amount of tooth decay which could be from a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar.
Along with his stress-related bruxism and severe tooth decay, Dr. Amit Rai, a London general dental practitioner, claims in a paper for the British Dental Journal, that the king had a significant amount of tartar build up. He also suggests that his jaw and teeth show evidence of medieval dentistry and at least two tooth extractions most likely performed by barber surgeons. So, if you ever wondered whether or not your tartar would decay on its own, well now you have proof that even after more than 500 years, it is still there.
The paper has some cool dental anthropology for you science minded people.
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