Effects of elevated temperatures on different restorative materials: An aid to forensic identification processes

BACKGROUND: Heat-induced alterations to dental and restorative materials can be of great interest to forensic dentistry. Knowing the specific optical behavior of dental materials can be of high importance as recognition of changes induced by high temperatures can lead to the determination of material which was used in a dental restoration, facilitating identification of burned human remains. AIM: To observe the effects of predetermined temperatures (200°C–400°C–600°C–800°C–1000°C) on unrestored teeth and different restorative materials macroscopically and then examine them under a stereomicroscope for the purpose of identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 375 extracted teeth which were divided into five groups of 75 teeth each as follows: group 1- unrestored teeth, group 2- teeth restored with all-ceramic crowns, Group 3- with class I silver amalgam filling, group 4- with class I composite restoration, and group 5- with class I glass ionomer cement restoration. RESULTS: Unrestored and restored teeth display a series of specific macroscopic & stereomicroscopic structural changes for each range of temperature. CONCLUSION: Dental tissues and restorative materials undergo a series of changes which correlate well with the various temperatures to which they were exposed. These changes are a consequence of the nature of the materials and their physicochemical characteristics.