Dental cementum examination with SEM/EDX for unraveling details along the lifeline to assist identification of a female individual

In this work, we present a novel approach of forensic examination of the dental cementum by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as an imaging tool, complemented by semiquantitative elemental analysis of the incremental lines with an Energy Dispersion X-ray analyzer. Tooth samples were collected from female donors who are known to have given single or multiple childbirths. This research is aimed to prove the following hypothesis - if pregnancy (possibly followed by breastfeeding) affects the calcium and phosphorus levels in female metabolism, then increased levels of Ca and P should be detected in the dental cementum region corresponding to the age of the pregnancy. For this purpose, EDX spectra were taken from sampling points, evenly aligned along the direction of the cementum growth. The most intensive X-ray peaks were analyzed employing qualitative and semiquantitative elemental analysis. Results showed that the changes in the peak values of Ca and P levels in the cementum along the lifeline could be related to the biological age of pregnancy, possibly followed by breastfeeding. The observed variations in other elements could also suggest some other physiological conditions or nutrition patterns. These preliminary results could trigger more profound and extensive research involving more sophisticated techniques for elemental analysis, such as PIXE (Proton Induced X-ray Emission). Correlation of the element levels to certain conditions may bring a new paradigm of the unique forensic value of the dental cementum, on which the life story of a person is literally written in a stone. This method could serve pure forensic purposes and archeological examinations of human findings in support of historical facts. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study utilized SEM and Energy Dispersion X-ray analysis to examine the dental cementum of female donors who have given birth, aiming to investigate the impact of pregnancy and breastfeeding on calcium and phosphorus levels in metabolism. The results suggested that changes in Ca and P levels in the cementum could be related to the biological age of pregnancy, potentially indicating other physiological conditions or nutrition patterns. More extensive research with sophisticated techniques like PIXE is recommended to further explore the forensic value of dental cementum.