Dental News - Traces of lead in teeth shed light on individuals' origin

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 4. August 2014

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SYDNEY, Australia/ GAINESVILLE, Fla., USA: Researchers from the US and Australia have discovered that trace amounts of lead in human teeth may allow for identification of the place of origin of an individual. For instance, they were able to distinguish Americans from Europeans based on the lead isotopes, the variants of lead, in their teeth. The scientists think that the findings may have important implications for forensic analysis.

Lead is composed of four isotopes, the amounts of which vary in rocks and soils in various regions around the world. Owing to mining and other pollution-causing activities, lead isotopes are released into the environment and accumulate in the developing tooth enamel of children.

Therefore, different teeth can reveal different information. While first molar enamel, which develops until the age of 3, provides information about birth and toddler years, incisor and canine enamel, which complete development at around age 5, give insight into early childhood. Third molar enamel does not start forming until age 8 and thus indicates late-childhood residences.

"When you grow up, you record the signal of the local environment. If you move somewhere else, your isotope will be distinct from the local population", explained Dr George D. Kamenov, a geology researcher at the University of Florida, who led the study.

Among other things, the researchers found that the teeth of people from the US are distinct from the teeth of people from other countries, which means that individuals from the US could be identified in any other region of the world. For instance, US teeth show the most radiogenic trace amounts of lead, while Australian teeth show the least.

The researchers believe that their discovery could also help police solve cold cases involving unidentified decomposed bodies. "In modern forensic investigations we can discriminate to some extent Eastern Europeans from Western and Northern Europeans. Australians can be identified to some extent in any region in the world, although there is some overlap with Western European individuals", they said.

In addition, lead isotopes can be used to distinguish historical skeletal remains, as modern and historical teeth have different signals, according to the study. The natural composition of lead changed over the past century because of mining and the use of leaded gasoline. "Using this information, archeologists can identify early European bodies in New World areas", Kamenov said.

The study, titled "The Pb Isotopic Record of Historical to Modern Human Lead Exposure", was published in the 15 August issue of the Science of the Total Environment journal. It was conducted in collaboration with Macquarie University in Sydney.

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