The use of deciduous molars in EPR dose reconstruction

Abstract

In the present study naturally loose deciduous molars were investigated. The feasibility of separating enamel from small size molars was analysed. EPR spectrum parameters of whole molars and separated enamel only were evaluated before and after laboratory irradiation. The Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal amplitudes of CO (2) (-) and native signals were determined by spectrum deconvolution, as a function of radiation dose in the range 0.1-10 Gy. A detection threshold of absorbed dose from deciduous molars of 198 and 21 mGy is estimated for massive (that contained both enamel and dentine) and grainy samples (that contained enamel only), respectively. The elimination of the organic material from the massive deciduous samples reduced the mean bias dose for the native signal from 90+/-18 to 34+/-13 mGy. A decay of the background signal within 2 weeks after irradiation was found, while the dosimetric signal was stable before and after the irradiation process. The presented results suggest deciduous teeth to be suitable for retrospective dose assessment. To get reasonable dose estimates, however, any organic material must be eliminated, and the measurements should be performed 2 weeks after the chemical and mechanical preparation and the irradiation process are done.