OT- Prehistoric Neanderthals had endodontists and root canals

… and you doubt that aliens have been here.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/13/nx-s1-5815047/neanderthal-tooth-dentistry-cavity-drill

intercst

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Makes you wonder if the Neanderthal person who had the root canal surgery only had one arm and one leg.

After all, today’s periodontist’s charge an arm and a leg.

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I don’t doubt that Neanderthals were mighty tough, considering they lived just south of the Asian Ice Age glaciers for tens of thousands of years. Doesn’t take aliens to see that.

Wendy

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I find the story…or, at least the authors’ conclusions in the primary document…entertaining, but a bit implausible.

I seriously doubt that the access to the pulp chamber and the enlarged opening of the root canal could be made with the instruments/instrumentation described in the article. The photograph presented shows the sort of end result achieved with high speed rotary cutting instruments or hand instruments with round, easy to manipulate handles…not the lithic tools shown.

The authors claim to have been able to reproduce the same cavity design using extracted human teeth and lithic tools…but don’t provide photographs.

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