Comparative Mammalian Dental Enamel Histology

Using light and scanning electron microscopy, this research documents similarities and differences in the enamel composition of human, dog, pig, and deer teeth. The main focus is on the Hunter-Schreger band (HSB) phenomena characteristic to mammalian dental enamel. The human teeth are controls to which comparisons are made. Deciduous and permanent maxillary and mandibular incisors, canines, premolars, molars were examined from labio-lingual and mesio-distal thin sections. HSBs in mammals compared to humans proved to show width and length differences while their enamel prism size did not vary across species. It is believed that human tooth enamel compared to other mammals can be a distinctive factor in the recovery process of comingled remains to determine to whom the tooth belongs.