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A new [study / studious] shows that people today have more gum disease than people [living / lived] 2,000 years ago. The study is from the university King's College in London and is [publication / published] in the 'British Dental Journal'. Researchers looked at the [tooth / teeth] in the skulls of 303 people who lived between 200-400 AD (2,200-2,400 years ago). The skulls were found at an old [burial / bury] site in the west [on / of] England. The researchers found that only 5 per cent of the skulls [showed / shows] signs of gum disease. Up to 30 per cent of people in England today have gum disease. Professor Francis Hughes was [surprising / surprised] by what he found. He said people did not have toothbrushes or toothpaste [before / back] then and did not [drop by / visit] dentists, like we do today.

The main [reason / reasons] why modern people have more gum disease is [smoking / smoked] . Theya Molleson, co-author of the [reporting / report] , said the study shows that people's [oral / aural] health has become much worse over the [passed / past] 2,000 years. She added that she thinks gum disease could start going down [from / by] now as more people stop smoking. She said: "As smoking declines [in / on] the population, we should see a decline in the numbers of people [for / with] the disease." Gum disease happens when bacteria build up in your mouth. The bacteria [eat / bite] away at our gums and can make your teeth fall out. People can reduce the risk of gum disease by [regulation / regular] brushing, using mouthwash and not smoking.