Postmortem Pink Teeth

Kirkham, W. R.; Andrews, Eva; Snow, Clyde C.; Grape, P. M.; Snyder, L.

doi:10.1520/jfs10375j

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In death by asphyxiation or drowning, there is an accumulation of blood in the tooth pulp due to either a rapid increase in venous pressure to the head, or a pooling of blood in the head and neck region due to the victim lying in a head-down position after death (Clark and Law, 1984;Borrman et al, 1994). Studies also show that the discoloration is often confined to the incisors, canines, and premolars (Kirkham et al, 1977), as was found here.…”

Section: Burial Descriptionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…This is internal to the tooth structure and not on the enamel, so is not due to diet. Previous research into the cause of pink teeth (Beeley and Harvey, 1973;van Wyk, 1988avan Wyk, , 1989Watts and Addy, 2001) have isolated the source of this discoloration to some kind of hemoglobin which has diffused into the dentin (Kirkham et al, 1977;van Wyk, 1988b;Fish, 2005). While pink teeth are not correlated exclusively with one cause of death, it is most commonly found in conjunction with death by drowning (Clark and Law, 1984;Brøndum and Simonsen, 1987;van Wyk, 1987;Pollanen, 1998).…”

Section: Burial Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A rare tribal (adivasi) burial from the lower Narmada River valley at Rampura, Gujarat, Western India

Athreya

Raj

2010

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An extended burial of a young adult female was recovered from Late Pleistocene deposits along the Narmada River in Rampura, Narmada District, Gujarat, Western India in 2005. Radiocarbon dating of the skeleton indicates that the individual was buried between 324 and 60 years ago, with the mean estimation placing the year of death at 1817. Osteological analyses indicate that the individual is a female who died between the ages of 16 and 21 years, and morphometric analyses of the cranium place show affinity with the community of South Asians known as adivasis or 'tribals.' Analyses of the dentition of the young woman, who had pink teeth, could shed light on the possible cause of death. If this condition was not brought on post-mortem due to the wet soil conditions, it could reflect death by drowning. Although burial in general is rare in India (where cremation is typically practiced among Hindus) and burials outside of cemeteries are uncommon for the non-Hindu communities, a few local tribal groups are known to bury their dead. Comparative cross-cultural analyses of death rituals among India's tribal populations in conjunction with an analysis of the specimen itself are combined to infer the population affinity of this individual. This specimen provides rare first-hand information on the burial practices of India's tribal groups.

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Section: Burial Descriptionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Burial Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A rare tribal (adivasi) burial from the lower Narmada River valley at Rampura, Gujarat, Western India

Athreya

Raj

2010

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“…While he made his observations in cases of drowning and hanging, Miles et al (1953) stressed the occurrence of this phenomenon in cases of strangulation and carbon monoxide intoxication in connection with the Christie murder case. However, the pathognomic value of pink teeth is more than doubtful since it has been described in a variety of unnatural causes of deaths (Van Wyk 1987;Kirkham et al 1977;Borrman et al 1994). We report the occurrence of pink teeth in the corpse of a female because similar changes in colour were also found in the fingernails.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

A partially mummified corpse with pink teeth and pink nails

Ortmann

DuChesne

1997

International Journal of Legal Medicine

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A female corpse in a state of advanced decomposition and putrefaction with pink teeth and an equivalent discolouration of several fingernails was found by a group of hunters in a forest. A combination of trimipramin intoxication, hypothermia and pneumonia could be established as the cause of death. Autolysis or blood congestion can only favour the occurrence of a pink discoloration. Pink phenomena depend on special anatomical features such as the existence of porus structures protected by a dense material, which explains the occurrence of a pink discoloration in teeth and fingernails. The non-specificity of congestion, its genesis and reinforcement by exogeneous factors does not allow pink phenomena to be used as specific forensic evidence.

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“…8,18 The pink-tooth phenomenon was duplicated experimentally in vitro by using cadaver blood and human teeth divided longitudinally 19 or by instilling into the pulp chambers whole blood and blood with the red cells hemolyzed. 2,11 Forensic pathologists must have observed that the distribution of pink teeth can vary in a mouth and not all teeth are necessary involved. 18,19 In previous studies, not all jaws and/or teeth may have been examined thoroughly, and we still do not know the real frequency and distribution of the phenomenon.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pink Teeth in a Series of Bodies Recovered From a Single Shipwreck

Campobasso¹,

Vella²,

Santoro³

et al. 2006

American Journal of Forensic Medicine &Amp; Pathology

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Pink teeth have most often been observed in victims of drowning but have also been reported in subjects who died suddenly and unnaturally. There is general agreement that there is no obvious connection between the occurrence of pink teeth and the cause of death, but the condition of the surroundings (especially humidity) must certainly play an important role in the development of the pink-tooth phenomenon. The frequency and distribution of postmortem pink coloration of the teeth have been studied among a representative sample of 52 cadavers. All the bodies were victims of a single shipwreck that occurred on March 13, 1997, in the middle of the Otranto Canal (Mediterranean Sea). The bodies were recovered from the seawater after approximately 7 months. A distinct pink coloration of the teeth was found in only 18 cadavers (13 females and 5 males) of ages ranging between 13 and 60 years. The phenomenon was more pronounced in younger individuals due to age-related changes of the root canal, less penetrable by the pigment responsible for the postmortem pink staining. By histochemical methods and autofluorescence, hemoglobin and its derivatives have been identified as the most likely pigments responsible for this postmortem process that can be considered analogous to postmortem lividity. These data are consistent with previous reports on pink teeth, indicating that the diffusion of the blood in the pulp into the dentinal tubules causes the red discoloration of the teeth. Based on the results, the pigmentation is more prominent on the teeth with single roots rather than in the posterior teeth with multiple roots.

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Postmortem Pink Teeth

Cited by 34 publications

References 2 publications

A rare tribal (adivasi) burial from the lower Narmada River valley at Rampura, Gujarat, Western India

A rare tribal (adivasi) burial from the lower Narmada River valley at Rampura, Gujarat, Western India

A partially mummified corpse with pink teeth and pink nails

Pink Teeth in a Series of Bodies Recovered From a Single Shipwreck

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