New Research

Neanderthals Got Cavities, Too—and New Research Suggests They Drilled Into Their Teeth to Treat Them, Just Like Modern Dentists

Researchers unearthed a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar that shows signs of dental surgery, a discovery that pushes back the earliest evidence of dental work by roughly 45,000 years

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

May 15, 2026 9:34 a.m.

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Neanderthals were highly creative and resourceful. Living throughout Europe and Asia between 400,000 and 40,000 years ago, they made art, intentionally started fires, took care of their sick and injured peers, created a sticky, multipurpose resin and extracted high-calorie grease from animal bones, to name just a few accomplishments.

Now, new research suggests they may also have dabbled in dentistry. Scientists have discovered a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar that appears to have been deliberately drilled to treat a cavity, they report in a new paper published in the journal PLOS One.

The discovery pushes back the earliest evidence of dental work by roughly 45,000 years and adds to the growing body of research that Neanderthals were intelligent, capable hominins.

“Discoveries like this one drive the final nails into that old caricature” of Neanderthals as dumb brutes who were less intelligent than early modern humans, says study co-author Andrey Krivoshapkin, an archaeologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, to National Geographic’s Jack Tamisiea. “This moves beyond simple hygiene into the realm of active medical treatment.”

The procedure, which was likely performed without anesthesia, would have been incredibly painful. But the person probably felt some relief afterward—and appears to have continued chewing with the tooth for years afterward.

“What amazed me was how intuitively the person who owned this tooth understood exactly where the pain was coming from and realized that its source could be removed,” says lead author Alisa Zubova, an anthropologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, to CNN’s Ashley Strickland. “This tells us that the emotional and conscious parts of the Neanderthal mind operated independently, just as they do in modern humans.”

The tooth—a lower second molar—was discovered in Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia, Russia. When researchers examined it, they noticed the tooth had a large, curved hole in the middle, extending from the chewing surface to the bottom of the pulp chamber.

They figured the molar had been damaged somehow, before or after the person’s death. But, as they spent more time with the tooth, they began to wonder whether the deformity was the work of Neanderthal hands.

Advanced imaging techniques confirmed their hunch. They found two cavities, as well as numerous scrapes and rotational marks. They suspect one of the individual’s peers—possibly a family member—used a stone tool, probably made of jasper, to drill deep into the tooth.

“Opening the pulp chamber would have released pressure and removed infected tissue, reducing pain and halting the spread of infection,” says study co-author Kseniya Kolobova, also an archaeologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Ellen Phiddian. “The fact that the tooth shows polish from continued use after the intervention proves the individual survived and the tooth remained functional.”

To be sure they’d uncovered evidence of deliberate dentistry, the researchers attempted to replicate the procedure in their laboratory. They gathered three Homo sapiens molars—two prehistoric and one modern—then used fine-pointed jasper stone tools to test out an array of scraping and drilling techniques.

Removing tissue without inadvertently cracking the tooth was challenging, which suggests the Neanderthal dentist who worked on the 59,000-year-old molar had some experience treating cavities.

“This was not a fumbling first attempt,” Krivoshapkin tells NewScientist’s Christa Lesté-Lasserre. “The operator knew where to drill, how deep to go and when to stop. Regardless of who held the tool, the intervention demonstrates a remarkable level of cognitive and motor sophistication.”

Krivoshapkin adds that the pain was likely “immense,” which means “either the patient was extraordinarily stoic, or the person performing the treatment worked very quickly, or both.”

The team also wonders if, after the procedure, the Neanderthal dentist might have filled the hole with some substance. But they haven’t found any evidence to support that idea, reports Reuters’ Will Dunham.

However, not everyone is convinced Neanderthals performed dental surgery. The hole may have been drilled intentionally with a stone tool, but the scientists can’t definitively rule out other possibilities, says Rachel Kalisher, a bioarchaeologist at the University of California San Diego who was not involved with the research.

“I'm not sure that the evidence that they provide is necessarily the smoking gun,” Kalisher tells NPR’s Ari Daniel.

Still, Kalisher says she wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that Neanderthals were, in fact, working on each other’s teeth. “We have all this other evidence that they were very intelligent and able to respond and adapt to different types of situations,” she says.

Sarah Kuta | Read More

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.