Why were the Northmen so intent on raiding the lands and wealth of others for such a considerable amount of time? The Vikings raided from 793 to 1066 CE. Was it their bad teeth? Vikings suffered from poor oral health according to X-rays of skulls. We all know how painful tooth ache can be and, jokes aside, a bad diet can mean issues with one’s teeth and gums. Much of the land in Scandinavia was parsimonious (all those rocky islands) and the extreme cold weather just made things tougher all round. To go a viking was seen as a better alternative than suffering in silence with meagre resources.

“Sweden’s Viking Age population appears to have suffered from severe oral and maxillofacial disease, sinus and ear infections, osteoarthritis, and much more. This is shown in a study in which Viking skulls were examined using modern X-ray techniques.”
– Carolina Bertilsson, Eva Borg, Maria Vretemark, Henrik Lund. Findings from computed tomography examinations of Viking age skulls. BDJ Open, 2025; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41405-025-00309-9

Bad Tempered Vikings With Bad Teeth A Scary Prospect For Their Victims

The stories which have come down to us over time have painted the Northmen as fierce warriors who raped and pillaged great swathes of Europe. Coming south to warmer climates, where the lands were more bountiful for their inhabitants, made these places attractive targets. Many Vikings stayed and seeded the lands they raided and conquered. Scandinavian blood and genes can be found throughout the British Isles, in Ukraine and Russia, Normandy in France, and many other parts of Europe. The fact that these hardy folk crossed oceans in long thin wooden boats is testament to their courage and fortitude. Maybe their blood thirsty reputations were motivated in part by aching teeth, if the archaeological data from X-rayed Viking skulls provides a compelling factor.

The Archaeological Viking Evidence X-Rayed

“The results presented in British Dental Journal Open suggest that the fifteen individuals whose skulls were examined suffered from a broad range of diseases. The CT scans show pathological bone growths in the cranium and jawbone, revealing infections and other conditions. Several individuals showed signs of having suffered from sinus or ear infections that left traces in the adjacent bone structures. Signs of osteoarthritis and various dental diseases were also found. All the skulls came from adults who died between 20 and 60 years of age.”
– Science Daily

The Viking Life

Imagine rowing those longboats in all sorts of vile and extreme weather. Cramped together on benches, damp, bitterly cold, the freezing winds howling and the violent seas roiling. Day after day, night after night, amid storms and huge swells. Surrounded by brutality and machismo in every direction for months and years. It cannot have been conducive to good health and wellbeing.

Once arrived on land you would face either armed resistance in the form of home armies or the opportunity to commit violence upon innocent farming folk or monks. In the case of battle against a standing army there was a thing called the shield wall, where you would stand shield to shield with your fellow Viking warriors and crash into the shield wall of your Saxon opponents in Britain. For hours you would stab with spear and short sword whilst your brother Viking would defend you with his shield. Your shield would perform the same task for the warrior next to you. Kill or be killed.

Survival depended upon the shield wall holding, any gaps would result in death and being overrun by the enemy. A fair bit of teeth grinding, bruxism, would go on under this kind of stress. The stench of blood and faeces would reek to high heaven amid this fight to the death. The terror of the shield wall would stay with survivors forever. No wonder many of these chaps had really bad teeth, infections and other dental nasties to deal with during their hard and savage lives. Cavities would be forgotten about during this violence, but the flip side of combat would be broken teeth, chipped teeth, cracked teeth and broken jaws.

Studying The Skulls

The study employed CT scans to provide 3-dimensional images, which enabled researchers to examine in detail the variety of skeletal damage. This was achieved, layer by layer, when studying the skulls in all their different parts.

“There was much to look at. We found many signs of disease in these individuals. Exactly why we don’t know. While we can’t study the damage in the soft tissue because it’s no longer there, we can see the traces left in the skeletal structures,” says Carolina Bertilsson, and continues:

“The results of the study provide greater understanding of these people’s health and wellbeing. Everyone knows what it’s like to have pain somewhere, you can get quite desperate for help. But back then, they didn’t have the medical and dental care we do, or the kind of pain relief — and antibiotics — we now have. If you developed an infection, it could stick around for a long time.”
– Carolina Bertilsson, University of Gothenburg

Vikings Dealing With Dental Pain

“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”

This famous line from Shakespeare’s Richard III could be transmuted to the Vikings to read – A dentist! A dentist! My kingdom for a dentist! Because, quite simply, the distress and lingering pain they were subject to from the available archaeological evidence must have been bad. The thing about oral pain is that it flares up in the most sensitive of places with all those exposed nerves from gum disease and infections. Many Vikings, I would posit, would have called for euthanasia if the self-medicating with copious amounts of ale couldn’t get the job done. Remember that Vikings wished to enter Valhalla, which was a paradisical drinking and feasting hall for warriors who departed this mortal coil in battle with weapon in hand. I am not sure if dental instruments would have qualified in this Pagan-inspired lore.

Dentistry & Days Of The Week

Most of our days of the week are named after the Norse pantheon of gods. Thursday is Thor’s day. Friday is Frigg’s day. Wednesday is Woden or Odin’s day. Tuesday is Tyr’s day. Norse culture has played a big part in the development of many cultures around the globe. So while Vikings suffered from poor oral health according to x-rays of skulls, perhaps, we could all take a moment to reflect on the Norse and Viking contributions to our histories and who we are. Plus, we can thank our lucky stars for modern dentistry. Who knows the evolution of dental care may have calmed some angry types down from committing violence upon others out of oral agony.

Anyway, if you want to book an appointment with us on Frigg’s day, we’ll know what you’re talking about.

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