Despite many methods, there has not been a method yet that exactly determines PMI. This study aims to examine the relationship between the element levels in the dental tissue and the postmortem process in a corpse whose exact time of death is unknown and in the open field and to evaluate its use in determining the time of death by evaluating the increase-decrease-changes. For the study, the healthy and extracted third molars of the patients who applied to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Polyclinic for the extraction of their third molars for various reasons and whose third molars were extracted by the dentists were taken. The samples were divided into 6 groups, with 10 samples in each group. The teeth were left to decay in the open air in a jaw-like plastic model. Na, Mg, P, Ca, Fe, Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Si elements were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer analysis method. In our study, it was determined that there were statistically significant changes in the Na, Mg, Fe, Co, Pb, Si elements in the tooth structure. For the Co and Na elements, 2 regression equations were created that can be used to predict the time of death. This work showed that postmortem tooth element concentration changes can be used to predict the time of death. As a result of experiments that will cover longer periods with more elements and be carried out in different environments, a great contribution will be made to the subject of estimation of time of death which is not clear yet.
Key words: Forensic medicine, postmortem interval, element analysis
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