Calcification Temperature Threshold
Definition
The temperature at which dental enamel begins to structurally degrade. Enamel sustains fires up to approximately 200°C with minimal change; above 600-800°C it cracks, chalks, and loses morphological detail progressively.
- Low-damage range
- Up to approx. 200 C
- High-damage range
- Above approx. 600 to 800 C
- Tissue
- Dental enamel
- Use
- Dental identification in mass disaster / DVI cases
Common questions
Why does enamel's temperature resistance matter in mass fatality identification?+
Teeth are often the most heat-resistant tissue recovered from a burned body, so understanding at what temperature enamel starts to crack and lose detail tells examiners how much confidence to place in dental comparison for a given fire-exposed case, and when other identification methods should take priority.
What visible changes occur to enamel as temperature rises past the threshold?+
Enamel progressively cracks, develops a chalky white appearance, and loses fine surface and morphological detail, which can degrade the reliability of dental radiograph or ante-mortem record comparison as damage increases.
Related terms
- Ante-Mortem (AM) Record
- Any dental documentation from the person's life: radiographs, clinical charts, study models, photographs, and prosthetic records. These form the known standard against...
- DVI (Disaster Victim Identification)
- The systematic multi-agency process for identifying victims of mass-casualty events, governed by the INTERPOL DVI Guide 2018 revision. Organises work into five...
- Post-Mortem (PM) Record
- The dental charting, radiographs, and descriptive notes taken from recovered human remains at the mortuary. The data set to be matched to...
- Primary Identification Method
- A method accepted by INTERPOL and most national standards as sufficient on its own to confirm identity: fingerprints, dental comparison, or DNA....
- Reconciliation
- The formal process of comparing an AM record against a PM record to determine whether they represent the same individual. A confirmed...