Crack Propagation in Teeth: A Comparison of Perimortem and Postmortem Behavior of Dental Materials and Cracks

Crack Propagation in Teeth: A Comparison of Perimortem and Postmortem Behavior of Dental Materials and Cracks

:  This study presents a new method for understanding postmortem heat‐induced crack propagation patterns in teeth. The results demonstrate that patterns of postmortem heat‐induced crack propagation differ from perimortem and antemortem trauma‐induced crack propagation patterns. Dental material of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic sciences Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 263 - 266
Main Authors: Hughes, Cris E., White, Crystal A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2009
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Animals
Autopsies
Bicuspid - injuries
Bicuspid - pathology
Comparative studies
Cracked Tooth Syndrome - pathology
dentin
enamel
forensic anthropology
Forensic Dentistry
Forensic odontology
forensic science
heat
Human remains
Incisor - injuries
Incisor - pathology
Microscopy
Postmortem Changes
Sus scrofa
Teeth
Temperature
tooth
tooth fracture
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Summary::  This study presents a new method for understanding postmortem heat‐induced crack propagation patterns in teeth. The results demonstrate that patterns of postmortem heat‐induced crack propagation differ from perimortem and antemortem trauma‐induced crack propagation patterns. Dental material of the postmortem tooth undergoes dehydration leading to a shrinking and more brittle dentin material and a weaker dentin‐enamel junction. Dentin intertubule tensile stresses are amplified by the presence of the pulp cavity, and initiates crack propagation from the internal dentin, through the dentin‐enamel junction and lastly the enamel. In contrast, in vivo perimortem and antemortem trauma‐induced crack propagation initiates cracking from the external surface of the enamel toward the dentin‐enamel junction where the majority of the energy of the crack is dissipated, eliminating the crack’s progress into the dentin. These unique patterns of crack propagation can be used to differentiate postmortem taphonomy‐induced damage from antemortem and perimortem trauma in teeth.
Bibliography:ArticleID:JFO976
Presented at the 2007 Mountain, Desert, and Coastal Forensic Anthropology Annual Meeting, May 2007, in Boulder City, NV, and the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 18-23, 2008, in Washington, DC.
istex:98616E10FF29792C264E7839B33B8E49BD728737
ark:/67375/WNG-40L7D0NT-N
Presented at the 2007 Mountain, Desert, and Coastal Forensic Anthropology Annual Meeting, May 2007, in Boulder City, NV, and the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 18–23, 2008, in Washington, DC.
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ISSN:0022-1198
1556-4029
DOI:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00976.x