Characteristics of the number of odontoblasts in human dental pulp post-mortem.

Estimation of the time since death is important in forensic medicine, and so far not much is known in employing dental pulp for such purposes. The tooth organ is the hardest organ in the human body, with a loose connective tissue of dental pulp situated within a rigid encasement of mineralized surrounding tissues. Human material was obtained from 31 corpses of people who died in car and train accidents and had healthy oral statuses. Samples were divided into two groups at different environmental temperatures. During the autopsy, the jaws were resected to keep teeth in situ, and every day one tooth was extracted. After decalcification, serial thin sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin were cut. Odontoblasts in the dental pulp were counted and data analysed. Statistical analysis showed that the number of odontoblasts drops during the time after death, and no odontoblasts remain in the pulp after 5 days.