Effects of Thermal Decomposition on the Chemical and Crystal Structure of Teeth

Authors

• Aislinn Reyes, St. Mary's University & University of Texas at San Antonio
• Chris Rightsell, St. Mary's University & University of Texas at San Antonio
• Gabriela Azcárate, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Ivet Gil-Chavarria, National Autonomous University of Mexico
• Arturo Ponce, University of Texas at San Antonio

Files

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Keywords

Thermal Decomposition, Chemical structure, Human teeth

Description

• This research arose from a need to obtain information from dental organs to aid identification processes of burned bodies found in the Mexican desert. • Teeth are mainly comprised of hydroxyapatite (HAp) [1], an inorganic crystalline mineral. • Studies have been done focused on certain parts of the process of thermal decomposition [2,3,4], but none have outlined a comprehensive timeline. • The purpose of this study is to investigate the crystal structure and chemical composition of the byproducts of thermal decomposition.

Format

pdf

Size

1 poster

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.