Scientists have revealed the type of TEETH that means you inherited a gene from Neanderthals

Your smile is probably one of the first things someone notices about you.

Now experts have discovered that the shape of our teeth may have been influenced by Neanderthals.

Research has shown that interbreeding with ancient human species from thousands of years ago still has lasting genetic effects on some people.

And it has led to significant differences in teeth between ethnic groups – especially for Europeans who inherited the gene.

The team, made up of researchers from University College London (UCL), analyzed data from 882 volunteers in Colombia of mixed European, Native American and African descent, including dental crown measurements derived from 3D scans of dental plaster casts.

They compared these measurements with the participants’ genetic information and identified 18 genomic regions that influence the size and shape of different groups of teeth.

It is believed that one of the genes was inherited from Neanderthals as a result of interbreeding with ancient humans.

Carriers of the gene have thinner incisors: the eight teeth at the front of the mouth.

The photo shows an example of the dental scans that researchers used to measure tooth dimensions. However, they don’t know if this comes from a person who carries the Neanderthal gene. The blue teeth show the arrangement of the teeth in our lower jaw as it would be naturally. This is called our dental arcade. The white teeth are aligned versions of the same teeth, where they are all aligned in the same direction: width, height, thickness

Interestingly, this genetic variant, which contributes to tooth development, was only found in people of European descent.

In general, people of European descent also had smaller teeth.

Lead author Dr Kaustubh Adhikari said that although this gene causes people to have thinner teeth, it does not mean they are more sensitive or prone to cracking.

“The ‘thickness’ of the incisors we are talking about is the total size of the incisor from front to back, not the thickness of the enamel layer,” he said.

‘The variation in overall thickness we observe, given that they are all healthy people without dental deformities, is modest.

‘Our study volunteers did not have hyper-thin teeth that might have been more sensitive or delicate.

‘In other words, the slightly thinner teeth that some of these people have, because of the gene we identified, are not a bad thing.

“So it’s nothing to worry about; it’s all part of normal human variation.’

Neanderthals were an early relative of humans who went extinct about 40,000 years ago, although their time on this planet overlapped with that of modern humans (homo sapiens). The photo shows a recreation of a Neanderthal woman

Although a thin layer of enamel on the teeth can affect whiteness, Dr. Adhikari said that is not the case in this case.

‘Teeth sensitivity and whiteness are usually affected by enamel – the thin but strong layer that covers the outside of your teeth,’ he said.

‘The genes that influence enamel are different from the genes we found in our research. That’s no surprise, because we didn’t study the enamel, we just studied the overall size of the tooth.

“As far as we understand, the two things are controlled by somewhat separate biological processes.”

Co-lead author Professor Andrés Ruiz-Linares added: ‘Our findings do not shed light on whether the genes that identify tooth shape have been selected in evolution for particular benefits for dental health.

‘It is therefore possible that the genes have been selected because of the influences they have in other areas, with tooth shape differences as a side effect.’

The study’s lead authors previously found that genes inherited from Neanderthals may influence the shape of our noses and also contribute to greater overall pain sensitivity.

Their findings were published in the journal Current Biology.

WHY DID THE NEANDERT LANGUAGES DISAPPEAR?

It was commonly thought that Neanderthals became extinct because they could not compete with modern humans for food and resources.

But a 2014 University of Oxford study found that both groups coexisted for between 2,600 and 5,400 years and that some interbreeding occurred.

Experts believe that Neanderthals “may have survived in the shrinking parts of Europe for thousands of years” before becoming extinct, rather than being immediately replaced by modern humans.

We once lived among Neanderthals, but they disappeared about 40,000 years ago. The proposed reasons for their demise vary, but experts have indicated that interbreeding, climate change and violent collisions with humans could be the cause (stock image)

The study did not cover eastern regions such as Uzbekistan and Siberia, where Neanderthals also lived.

“So it is still possible that Neanderthals settled in some areas later,” says anthropologist Professor Chris Stringer.

‘The general pattern seems clear: Neanderthals had largely, and perhaps completely, disappeared from their known range by 39,000 years ago.’