Investigating the Etiology and Demographic Distribution of Enamel Hypoplasia

Enamel hypoplasia (EH) is a stress marker commonly used in bioarcheological research to investigate health during growth. However, its analysis in contemporary samples allows for additional avenues of research, including comparison with medical records. The aim of the present research is to explore the influence of biological sex and socioeconomic status on the distribution of EH and examine the factors that contribute to the development of this defect. In this perspective, analysis of dentition was conducted on 132 individuals, with known information about age, biological sex, nationality, medical records, and socioeconomic status. Statistical analysis was conducted using Fisher’s test and the chi-square test. As a result, EH was observed more frequently among individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, while a significant association was observed with socioeconomic status, evidencing a strong association between EH presence and structural vulnerability (chi-square, p = 0.04). The frequency of EH between sexes was not significant; however, a higher frequency was observed among males (chi-square, p = 0.94). We hypothesize that the impact of female biological buffering might be reduced in the European sample, as this result aligns with background information of the context. These results align with the research hypotheses and reinforce the multifactorial etiology of EH.