Human Dentition in Transition: An Evolutionary Outlook for the Next Millennium Based on Contemporary Anthropological Trends and Selection Pressures

Human dentition, a complex and adaptive biological system, has exhibited an evolutionary trajectory marked by significant morphological and numerical transformations in response to environmental and cultural pressures. Paleoanthropological observations and data from contemporary dentistry converge to indicate a persistent tendency toward tooth reduction in Homo sapiens, manifested, for example, in the high prevalence of agenesis and impaction of third molars. This theoretical and prospective article aims to outline, through an interdisciplinary analysis that combines principles of evolutionary biology, anthropological evidence, and the panorama of current selective influences, a conjectural scenario for human dentition in the horizon of a millennium. A critical evaluation of selective pressures – or their attenuation – on dentition is carried out, considering the modern highly processed diet, the exponential advances in dental care, and the documented secular tendency toward gracilization of the craniofacial skeleton, including the dimensional reduction of the dental arches. Based on this rationale, a substantial increase in the prevalence of third molar agenesis is projected, accompanied by possible, albeit more subtle, increases in the incidence of congenital absence of other teeth, such as second molars and lateral incisors. Additionally, the potential tendency towards generalized microdontia and the reduction of dental structural robustness is discussed. The essay concludes with a reflection on the intricate interaction between natural evolutionary processes and the growing potential for biotechnological intervention in the dental field, which may modulate, accelerate or even reverse the evolutionary trajectories prospected here.

Keywords: Human Dental Evolution, Dental Prospecting, Biological Anthropology, Third Molars, Dental Agenesis, Reduced Selective Pressure, Microdontia, Craniofacial Adaptation.