Oldest tooth filling was made by an Ice Age dentist in Italy

[Warpy]

3. Dentistry without anesthetic had to be brutal

but maybe they found that powdered bitumen and whatever they mixed it with would kill infection--or slow it down so the poor bastard with the bad tooth didn't die of sepsis.

I've seen some of the old bones that didn't get this done, holes in the mandible or maxilla showing where tooth abscesses ruptured through the bone before they turned fatal.

Dentistry and dental anesthesia are things I hope we can save come the Apocalypse.