Ive had a bad half rotten tooth before,for a few years actually,and it was a terrible painful experience until i went to the dentist.The pain was so unbearable and when i didnt have the means at the time to get it pulled, ive very much considered pulling it or knocking it out myself.once i got it taken out by a professional, i realised how much of a bad idea that would of been as it was quite the jarring experience,even with proper anaesthesia and tools and it seemed difficult for the dentist to remove. How did ancient people deal with this traumatic experience or did they just deal with it and die of infection?
One thing to keep in mind is that prior to the farming of cereal grains, very few people ever got cavities--about 8%. When Grains became a major part of the diet, that number jumped to about 80%. So, evolutionarily speaking, widespread cavities are a relatively new phenomenon. One of the oldest most widespread tools to deal with them was a hand drill or bowdrill tipped with a piece of flint:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/bow-and-flint-tipped-drill.jpg
