Forensic Science International
Volume 193, Issue 1 , Pages 122-126, 15 December 2009

Characteristics of the number of odontoblasts in human dental pulp post-mortem

  • Marko Vavpotič

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +386 41 477 898/1 543 72 01; fax: +386 1 524 38 64.
    • ,
  • Tomaž Turk

      Affiliations

    • Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva pl. 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
    • ,
  • Draga Štiblar Martinčič

      Affiliations

    • Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Slomškov trg 15, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
    • ,
  • Jože Balažic

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Korytkova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
    • Tel.: +386 1 543 72 01; fax: +386 1 524 38 64.

Received 15 December 2008; received in revised form 15 September 2009; accepted 30 September 2009. published online 05 November 2009.

Abstract 

Estimation of the time since death is important in forensic medicine, and so far not much is known in employing dental pulp for such purposes. The tooth organ is the hardest organ in the human body, with a loose connective tissue of dental pulp situated within a rigid encasement of mineralized surrounding tissues. Human material was obtained from 31 corpses of people who died in car and train accidents and had healthy oral statuses. Samples were divided into two groups at different environmental temperatures. During the autopsy, the jaws were resected to keep teeth in situ, and every day one tooth was extracted. After decalcification, serial thin sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin were cut. Odontoblasts in the dental pulp were counted and data analysed. Statistical analysis showed that the number of odontoblasts drops during the time after death, and no odontoblasts remain in the pulp after 5 days.

Keywords: Human dental pulp, Odontoblasts, Post-mortem, Estimation of time since death, Forensic medicine, Forensic odontology

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PII: S0379-0738(09)00410-1

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.09.023

Forensic Science International
Volume 193, Issue 1 , Pages 122-126, 15 December 2009

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