NOTE: Some prehistoric people had a much shorter life span. Mummies have been found missing, damaged,and abscessed teeth that involved facial bones. Some could have even the cause of death, once the infection went into the blood system.
Ancient people that lived in areas with sand had teeth that were often damaged by the constant sand they ate in their food.
Early Native American Indians that had a diet that was corn based suffered with tooth decay and early loss of teeth.
European people also lost teeth early in life. If you only lived to be 35 or 40 it was not uncommon to be nearly toothless.
Poor diet, little or no dental hygiene and no dentists to fix minor problems were major factors in early tooth loss.
About wild animals with dental problems. They too suffer from worn down teeth, missing teeth and decay if they live long enough. (some wild animals grow several sets of teeth like sharks.) Things get stuck between their teeth, teeth crack and chip.
I did research years ago for a dental brochure.
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