Abstract
Developmental enamel defects are often used as indicators of general health in past archaeological populations. However, it can be difficult to macroscopically distinguish subtle hypomineralised opacities from post-mortem staining, unrelated to developmental defects. To overcome this difficulty, we have used non-destructive x-ray microtomography to estimate the mineral density of enamel. Using a sample of deciduous teeth from a prehistoric burial site in Northeast Thailand, we demonstrate that it is possible to determine whether observed enamel discolourations were more likely to be true hypomineralised lesions or artefacts occurring as the result of taphonomic effects. The analyses of our sample showed no evidence of hypomineralised areas in teeth with macroscopic discolouration, which had previously been thought, on the basis of macroscopic observation, to be hypomineralisations indicative of growth disruption. Our results demonstrate that x-ray microtomography can be a powerful, non-destructive method for the investigation of the presence and severity of hypomineralisation, and that diagnosis of enamel hypomineralisation based on macroscopic observation of buried teeth should be made with caution. This method makes it possible to identify true dental defects that are indicative of growth disruptions.
Highlights
Dental enamel is the most mineralised and hard tissue in the human body, and teeth are generally the most durable and wellpreserved structure in the context of bioarchaeology
The aim of this research was to use x-ray microtomography (XMT) to examine the mineral density of dental enamel of deciduous teeth collected from Ban Non Wat with and without enamel staining, and use these findings to investigate whether these stains are more likely to have occurred post-mortem or be true developmental enamel hypomineralisation
It has shown that it is important to use an objective measure such as XMT when determining if true hypomineralised lesions exist, especially if the lesions are classified on the lower spectrum or nonhypoplastic lesions within the Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDE) Index [20], which do not affect the quantity of enamel
Summary
Dental enamel is the most mineralised and hard tissue in the human body, and teeth are generally the most durable and wellpreserved structure in the context of bioarchaeology (the study of people in the past from their skeletal remains). They are considered to be a valuable means for assessment of the health of past populations [1]. As enamel formation can be disrupted by biological insults, and because it does not remodel over time, it provides a permanent record of past stresses that occurred during dental development [2]. If disruption occurs during the mineralisation stage of enamel formation, this can result in hypomineralised enamel defects [3], which are evident as enamel opacities and discolorations [4]
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