Our teeth can reveal our intimate details

The work provides new evidence of the impact that events, such as reproduction and imprisonment, have on an organism.

'Our results make clear that the skeleton is not a static organ, but rather a dynamic one,' explains Paola Cerrito, a doctoral candidate in NYU's Department of Anthropology and College of Dentistry and the lead author of the paper, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports.

The paper's other authors include Shara Bailey, a professor in NYU's Department of Anthropology, Bin Hu, an associate research scientist at NYU's College of Dentistry, and Timothy Bromage, a professor at NYU's College of Dentistry.

The research focused on cementum, the dental tissue that covers the tooth's root. It begins to form annual layers – similar to a tree's 'rings' – from the time the tooth surfaces in the mouth.