Toward high sensitivity ESR dosimetry of mammal teeth: the effect of chemical treatment.

Investigations were conducted into chemical treatments suitable for concentrating enamel from cow teeth. Cow teeth could be used as alternative to human teeth for retrospective dosimetry when human teeth are not available. It is essential to remove dentin from tooth enamel for low dose radiation dosimetry in order to avoid interference to the ESR signal from organic radicals. Increasing the period of chemical treatment with KOH and NaOH reduced the signal intensity of the organic radicals. The sensitivity of the dosimetric signal from inorganic radicals increased slightly with length of treatment with NaOH, which is consistent with removal of dentin, and rose to a maximum of 20% after 5 h with KOH (40 degrees C).