Gold ligature surrounding the left central incisor and the right lateral incisor on the mandible of an adult male buried in the East Kirk of the parish church of St Nicholas, Aberdeen, Scotland. Credit: Jenna Dittmar Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Today, extensive tooth repair or replacement often requires the installation of a dental bridge made from durable resin and metal. That said, the procedure is nothing new. Archaeological examples of dental bridges date back thousands of years across cultures around the world. Recently, researchers discovered the oldest variant ever found in Scotland, but it’s anything but inconspicuous. According to a study recently published in the British Dental Journal , the medieval dental bridge excavated in Aberdeen was crafted using 20-carat gold. Simplified bridges made from silver or gold wire called dental ligatures date back to at least 2,500 BCE in ancient Egypt .…