Ancient Egyptians Used Dental Filling, New Study Suggests

Archaeologists remove the cover of an ancient painted coffin
discovered at al-Asasif Necropolis in the Vally of Kings in Luxor,
Egypt October 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany.
Archaeologists remove the cover of an ancient painted coffin discovered at al-Asasif Necropolis in the Vally of Kings in Luxor, Egypt October 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany.
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Ancient Egyptians Used Dental Filling, New Study Suggests

Archaeologists remove the cover of an ancient painted coffin
discovered at al-Asasif Necropolis in the Vally of Kings in Luxor,
Egypt October 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany.
Archaeologists remove the cover of an ancient painted coffin discovered at al-Asasif Necropolis in the Vally of Kings in Luxor, Egypt October 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany.

A recent Greek study that examined an ancient Egyptian mummy from the Ptolemaic age unearthed in "old Panopolis" in the city of Akhmim, southern Egypt, has found that Ancient Egyptians used dental filling.

Archeologists examined the mummy (AIG. 3343) kept at Athens's National Archaeological Museum, and found a porous cavity in the teeth filled with protective materials, which suggests that Ancient Egyptians had used dental filling and were probably the first to use this protective measure.

The study was published in the American Association for Anatomy's the Anatomical Record Journal.

To examine the mummy, archeologists from the Mummy Research Project of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Athens Medical Center, used the computerized tomography (CT) technique, which provides a full description of teeth.

They were surprised to find low density materials (dental filling) between the first and the second molars in the lower jaw.

According to the archeologists, the unique structure and low density of the discovered material is significantly different from the embalming materials found in different parts of the mummy's skull. The dimensions of the filling were larger than the cavity, which suggests the material was deliberately placed there.

They also found that the material's structure was different from the teeth's shape, and that there were other cavities that are not filled with the material. This suggest that the filling was used as a sort of therapy and not as part of the embalming process.

Although the discovery of the filling was the key result of the study, archeologists managed to determine that the mummy's teeth were weak and tattered in several places. The problems ranged from a mild loss of enamel to a complete loss of tissues in the first molar of the upper right jaw.

The archeologists also found evidence on severe gum infection in many teeth, along with a huge bone loss in different spots.

The study didn't look at the reason behind this mummy's death, but the skull's characteristics suggested it belongs to an adult male who died in his twenties. The mummy didn't show significant degenerative changes in the spine and large joints.



China Reveals New Team of Astronauts for Space Station Launch

Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-20 space mission (L-R) Wang Jie, Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui attend a press conference a day before the launch of the mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)
Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-20 space mission (L-R) Wang Jie, Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui attend a press conference a day before the launch of the mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)
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China Reveals New Team of Astronauts for Space Station Launch

Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-20 space mission (L-R) Wang Jie, Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui attend a press conference a day before the launch of the mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)
Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-20 space mission (L-R) Wang Jie, Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui attend a press conference a day before the launch of the mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)

China announced Wednesday the members of a three-person crew that will be launched to its space station as part of its growing exploration of space.
The Shenzhou 20 mission's astronauts are Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director general of China Manned Space Agency. They will replace three astronauts currently on the Chinese space station. Like those before them, they will stay there for roughly six months, The Associated Press reported.
The three will launch for space Thursday evening in China, from Jiuquan, on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China.
The three-person crew were sent in October last year and have been in space for 175 days, said Lin.
Chen Dong, who previously served on the Shenzhou 11 and Shenzhou 14 missions, is the group leader, while his two crewmates will be making their first trips to space. Chen Zhongrui was an air force pilot and Wang Jie, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
“I feel incomparable pride and accomplishment to go to space for my country again,” Chen Dong told reporters on Wednesday. “Each journey to space is unparalleled, I'm looking forward to gaining more experience and more breakthroughs through this flight."
Chen Dong led construction of the space station during the Shenzhou 14 mission.
While in space, the astronauts will carry out experiments in space medicine, and space technology; perform extravehicular trips; and make improvements to the space station.
China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station owing to US national security concerns over the control of the country's space program by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party.
China's space program has grown rapidly in recent years. The space agency has landed an explorer on Mars and a rover on the far side of the moon. It aims to put a person on the moon before 2030.
The returning astronauts are expected to land on April 29.