Pathology of the mandibles and maxillae from archaeological context: discrepancy between diagnoses obtained by external inspection and radiological analysis.

The goal of this research was to investigate the type and frequency of mandibular and maxillary lesions that could not be diagnosed relying solely on external macroscopic observation. The sample comprised of 189 maxillae and 182 mandibles from a late-medieval graveyard. The material was examined both macroscopically and radiologically, using traditional X-ray facilities, orthopantomographs, and a dental X-ray unit. The total number of lesions detected by radiography was 103, with the majority of them (90.3%) showing no external macroscopic features. The most frequently detected diseases were periodontal inflammatory lesions (64.1%), followed by developmental anomalies of the teeth (22.3%). The results of this study revealed that radiography allowed the detection of many underlying pathological lesions of the jaws that otherwise were not detected through external macroscopic examination.