The transition from hunting and gathering to farming, spanning about 14,000 years of human evolution, is a significant cultural milestone that imposed evolutionary constraints on diet and led to dramatic changes in the physiology and function of the human masticatory apparatus. Thus, resulting in a higher prevalence of dental pathologies such as dental crowding, abfractions, caries, teeth impaction and so on.

The development of advanced digital and technological methodologies provided new opportunities to explore evolutionary changes and to reveal their association with current dental pathologies. Understanding our evolutionary history might shed light on the origin of oral diseases and might contribute to the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Professor Rachel Sarig DMD, Ph.D., a specialist in orthodontics, Associate Prof.

Prof. Rachel Sarig recently was nominated as the new head of the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University.

Sarig is an Associate Professor at the Department of Oral Biology and the Department of Orthodontics at the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine. She serves as the head of the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research within the Faculty of Medicine.

Sarig completed her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree in 2005 and her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Anthropology in 2011, both at Tel Aviv University. She graduated (summa cum laude) from the Postgraduate International Program in Orthodontics at the university in 2012. Sarig’s research explores the evolutionary effect on human dentition and the development of oral pathologies. Her study includes both prehistoric and contemporary populations providing a unique insight into the development of modern diseases. Her work has influenced evolutionary biology and paleodemographic studies, with notable publications in Science. Sarig has received various grants from prestigious institutions.

Educational aims and objectives

• Understand human dentition’s evolutionary changes
• Explore changes in diets and their effects over time.
• Introducing 3D virtual methodologies used to study morphological changes
• • Appreciate human adaptation and dental variation among populations.
• Reveal the association between modern pathologies and how evolution affected it.

Learning outcomes

Understanding Evolution’s Impact: Comprehend how the shift from hunting and gathering to farming over 14,000 years influenced the human masticatory apparatus. Learn about evolutionary constraints on diet and resulting physiological changes in the jaw and teeth.

Linking Evolution to Pathologies: Recognize the rise in dental issues like crowding, abfractions, caries, and impaction due to the transition to agriculture. Understand the direct connection between cultural changes and oral health problems

Advanced Methods in Dental Anthropology: Appreciate the role of digital and technological methods in studying dental anthropology. Understand the interdisciplinary nature

GDC development outcomes

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