The use of gelling agents to preserve burnt teeth within the dental alveoli for dental human identification – a study utilising sheep mandibles

This study explores the stabilization of burnt teeth utilizing gelatin and agar solutions as alternatives to wheatpaste. Like wheatpaste solution, these materials are inexpensive, simple to use and are free from petrochemicals. Anterior sections of sheep mandibles were incinerated and subsequently solutions of agar, gelatin or wheatpaste were applied. The jaw fragments were then subjected to vibration and the number of teeth retained within the bone was recorded and compared to untreated incinerated jaw fragments.  Although agar solution demonstrated serious handling issues, gelatin solution provided stabilization equivalent to that of wheatpaste. Gelatin also performed well at lower temperature conditions under which wheatpaste has been shown to perform poorly.
Source: Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology - Category: Forensic Medicine Source Type: research