My name's Manmit and I'm super pumped to be blogging about the amazing field of....dentistry! As I try to control my excitement, I'd like to share with you all a bit about myself. I'm a pre-dental student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (go Illini!) and am actually starting this blog for my ANTH249: Human Evolution and Disease course. So far, this course has been the push I needed to become more actively involved in my future career aspirations. Why is dentistry for me you ask? Well, it is often a common assumption that I am a pre-dental student for the money, lifestyle, prestige, etc. While that may be true to a certain degree, I more so appreciate how oral care has evolved a great deal due to advancements in medicine and changes in lifestyle. Oral health and dentition, in particular, are often the first elements of the body to show signs of disease and infections occurring throughout the rest of the human self. To understand our teeth, is to understand the human body. By understanding the human body, it is easier to recognize other problems that may exist, and how to treat them. In evolution, everything is interconnected. I was worried this may make it difficult to narrow down to a topic to research on, especially in oral health and evolution, but I have been able to set a clear track of what my project will explore during the next couple of months.
My goal is to research and be able to inform you all on the evolution of humans’ jaw (and other oral structures’) anatomy/ physiology and how the impact of diverse lifestyles can promote or prevent oral diseases. Ultimately, the significance in acknowledging these changes should ideally promote better care of oral health to eliminate and prevent oral diseases—a glimpse into treatments used in the past (plants) and now (medicine) is a comparative approach I will utilize to strengthen the importance of oral care. I feel that my project will be greatly welcomed my the blogging community; from my blog posts so far, I have read the numerous comments in which my other peers have become quite intrigued in the subtle but influential role of oral and dentition evolution in humans.
As a student, I am limited in what and with whom I can experiment or perform “research” on. So, primarily I will rely on resources such as blogs, online databases, books, etc. for research. In my research I have conducted so far, I have been astonished in how many studies have been performed and research that has been conducted and collected, by universities, blogging individuals, and even dentists themselves. I will gather background information about the oral structures of our ancestors during different periods in time in different parts of the world. I will note general trends and unique patterns to particular populations. I will then share the medical diseases, if any, in existence at these times and places, as well as remedies and the diet employed. Then I will share the same information, but from today’s circumstances. It will be quite unique to compare more developed countries with less developed countries, and a select few indigenous tribes such as Eskimos, natives from the Amazon, Africa, and Asia and explore the differences and similarities that exist in their teeth. It is important to appreciate the diversity geography itself has to offer in physical appearance and human evolution. Additionally, if I come across any hypotheses or theories related to these topics, I will discuss them. Overall, it is important for me to learn and eventually inform the class of the evolution of dentition and oral growth and development and changes in infectious and oral autoimmune diseases and relate them to my readers in an effective and personable manner.
I hope you stay tuned and join me on this thrilling journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment