Hello Science World,
Does anyone have advise for the best way to determine if root exposure in museum specimens is due to premortem fenestration vs an artifact of the preservation process (specifically, thinning of maxillary/mandibular bone) when you have a whole toothrow involved (vs clear evidence of pathology in isolated teeth)?
Thank you so much for any advise!!!
Its an interesting question, never thought that way. I feel the answer might be related to something in cementum of the exposed roots. If cementum were not exposed before the preservation process, but are now seen exposed that might be due to the chemical treatment that ate away the bone and left cementum exposed, then the cementum may be thicker or preserve its cemental look on magnification.
On the other hand, if cementum was already exposed earlier, due to pre-mortem pathology (dehisence or fenestration) then the same chemical action that eroded bone would also affect the already exposed cementum, that way either it will be thin or completely gone to expose the dentin, or the cementum surface must have gone chemically affected.
Hello, in now days I visited templo mayor museum in Mexico city, how this skulls have dental jewelry and prosthesis, an Mexican archeologist wrote a book around that, I don't remember her name but the book is about dental restorations in Teotihuacan and Aztec cultures, it's exposed in Antropología e Historia de México museum in Mexico city too
This would be very difficult to determine by direct observation. The root surface appearance would probably be the same if were covered by periodontal ligament, or if it was covered with gingival connective tissue in life. Often teeth with fenestrations are buccally displaced, which results in them being physically outside of the body of the alveolus. Although not definitive, examination of tooth size and position in relation to the bulk of the tooth-supporting bone can give you a clue. Pre-mortem fenestrations are very common, and usually asymptomatic- so my guess is that most fenestrations occur before death. That may not help in this individual case, however. If the fenestration is accompanied by clinical recession, i.e., the root is exposed to the oral cavity, it will be easy to tell. In this case there will be damage to the cementum layer (and maybe root damage) as well as calculus, either gross or microscopic. Hope this helps!!!
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