While the ancient of people of Pompeii didn’t exactly have the luckiest of lives, they did often have a fine set of teeth on them.

Around 79 C.E., the eruption of Mount Vesuvius caked the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae in a cocktail of volcanic ash, smoke, gas and rock. The volcanic eruption spelled the end for the thousands of people, however the sites became neatly preserved from the spray of volcanic ash – serving as a time capsule for archeologists and anthropologists to study.

Among the abundance of fascinating discoveries researchers and scientists have found there is the excellent dental health of the local residents. Not bad, considering this was a time before toothbrushes and toothpaste. But of course, this was also a time far before high-sugar diets.

Check out this short video from Business Insider explaining some of the research that has gone into this ancient link between our pearly whites and sugar.