Dr. Erin Blankenship-Sefczek – How does developmental stress affect dental morphology?

Summary Dr. Erin Blankenship-Sefczek of Creighton University joins the show to discuss her research examining the connection between developmental stress and accessory cusps in teeth. Her work focuses on the placement and appearance of extra cusps that occur with greater frequency among individuals who have suffered stress during key developmental periods in their lives. Recommendations Dr. Blankenship-Sefczek's staff profile page at Creighton University Blankenship-Sefczek EC, Goodman AH, Hubbe M, Hunter JP, Guatelli-Steinberg D (2024) Nutritional supplementation, tooth crown size, and trait expression in individuals from Tezonteopan, Mexico . PLOS ONE 19(6): e0305123. Bailey SE, Hublin J-J. "What does it mean to be dentally "modern"?" [links to pdf of chapter] In: Scott GR, Irish JD, eds. Anthropological Perspectives on Tooth Morphology: Genetics, Evolution, Variation [links to site]. Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology. Cambridge University Press; 2013:222-249. Riga, A., Belcastro, M. G., & Moggi‐Cecchi, J. (2014). Environmental stress increases variability in the expression of dental cusps . American Journal of Physical Anthropology , 153 (3), 397-407. Riga, A., Belcastro, M. G., & Moggi-Cecchi, J. (2013). Environmental influence on dental morphology . arXiv preprint arXiv:1301.7334 . Jernvall J, Thesleff I. Reiterative signaling and patterning during mammalian tooth morphogenesis . Mech Dev. 2000 Mar 15;92(1):19-29. doi: 10.1016/s0925-4773(99)00322-6. PMID: 10704885. Jernvall, J. Linking development with generation of novelty in mammalian teeth . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97 (6) 2641-2645, (2000). Smith, T. (2023). The Tales Teeth Tell . MIT Press. Heyer, G. (1949). Arabella . William Heinneman. Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism . Flatiron books.

You can listen to Dr. Erin Blankenship-Sefczek – How does developmental stress affect dental morphology? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Dr. Erin Blankenship-Sefczek – How does developmental stress affect dental morphology? is an episode from AnthroBiology Podcast by Gaby Lapera.

This episode is 50:12 long.

This episode was published on Sep 25, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from AnthroBiology Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.