This is a skeleton of an old kingdom mummy, my colleagues and I had noticed the roots of the teeth mainly in the maxilla have developed these mineral growths. It seems to have occurred primarily on the molars but there are also signs of it on the premolars. We believe this is due to the body reacting with the natron salt.
Any advice would be helpful.
I couldn't see anything clear in this pic.
Could you send more and clearer images?
Also pics from the maxilla?
Also what are "mineral growths"?
If the deposition is along the cervical part of the tooth , it might be as simple as calculus. ore clear pictures will help in identifying them.
when I say mineral growths I refer to the grain-like deposits on the roots of the teeth, I am not sure what to call them. Any suggestions would be helpful.
From this picture and the distribution it looks like calculus , which is mineralized plaque/deposits.
Hallo Catherine - the mineralized deposits on the root surface are most probably so called "enamel pearls" - we also have seen samples in the last years. For further evaluation make a DVT scan of this region with 0.1 mm voxel resolution. If possible a sawing and grinding 50,um slide we give detailed information and differentiation.
Yours
Vitus Stachniss
Dental histology laboratory
Philipps-Univ. Marburg/Lahn, Germany
Hello Vitus,
Agree with the possibility of enamel pearls, however from the picture it appeared the deposits are not so well demarcated as would be expected with enamel pearls. It will however be very interesting to find out.
Hello Mandana and Catherine !
I attach an image with marks to indicate what we discus.
#1 are in my opinion dentine-enamel pearls;
#2 are mineralized plaque = calculus.
Whats your opinion?
Hello Vitus and Catherine,
Agree with Vitus on the one numbered in black... second one also may very well be an enamel pearl, however not so clear from this picture. The parts numbered 2 fit the calculus description.
May be an X ray will help.
if there are 2 enamel pearls on a mandibular tooth it is rare. Although up to 4 have been recorded.
Catherine I hope you can help clear this by histological or radiographic examination.
I'm not sure if I will be able to get an x-ray of this individual although he is very interesting, my friends and I are trying but it is rather difficult to get the museum to release this individual for x-ray analysis. I have emailed and asked to go back to study him further but I have to have some academic related study to go back, so I am relying on photographs I have taken on my first visit there. Sadly I didn't realise all these details at the time until analysis of the photographs later.
Here is a better angle of the tooth and it does look like enamel pearls.
All the best with getting the details Catherine... do update us as and when you find more.
hello: i believe its natron salts. and residues of mummification
rational;
if you look at your picture the original one you will notice several areas same as he one you are describing and natron slats are famous for doing that. i have an experience with Egyptian mummies and i have x-rayed all the Royal mummies in Cairo museum with the university of Michigan and Alexandria University in Egypt.
We published a book by the title of X-raying the pharaohs published by Scribner and i saw items like yours.
As an oral histologist and Periodontist Professor ,i can see some of my colleagues think it is an enamel pearl or cementoma or excementosis ,for the record most cementomas are at the apics of the tooth not wher it is located in your sample
true some of what you mention is in the ares of enamel pearl and cementomas or excementosis .
.even x-ray would be hard to identify because of superimposition also not sure if you can scrape it (but if you can scrape it )neither enamel Pearls and or excementosis will come out but natron salts will fall off easily and can be analyzed chemically easily
natron generally is ;sodium chloride (table salt), sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium sulphate. But there is more than natron in mummification.
take for example Dr zaki iskander one of the best archaeologist Egypt wrote that natron was not the only substance used for mummification the cranial cavity was stuffed with resin or linen soaked in resin.
further more the mummification process used cinnamon,myrrh,cassia ,linen,linen soaked in resin ,saw dust,natron,and occasionally one onion the hole body was anointed with cedar oil and rubbed with myrrh (from the brief history of ancient egypt by Zaki Iskandr and Alexander Badawi published in Cairo madkur 1965
other references are
Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures
By Aidan Cockburn, Eve Cockburn, Theodore A. Reyman
Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
edited by Kathryn A. Bard
best wishes
Prof Galil
DDS.D.,Oral and Max-facial Surg.,Ph.D,FAGD.,FADI.,Cert ,Periodontist (Royal College )
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