Soriano Evelyne-Pessoa, Carvalho Marcus-Vitor-Diniz de, Santos Francisco-Bernardo Dos, Mendoza Clóvis-César de, Araújo Maria-do Socorro-Dantas de, Campello Reginaldo-Inojosa-Carneiro
Department of Social Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Forensic Institute of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2009 Jul 1;14(7):E337-9.
This study presents the case of the post-mortem pink teeth phenomenon observed during an autopsy procedure performed on the body of a man who was kidnapped and murdered approximately 30 days before the examination. The corpse was in an advanced stage of decomposition and putrefaction. Both maxillary and jaw bones were intact, as well as the permanent teeth which presented the "pink teeth phenomenon", probably due to a haemorrhage in the pulp chambers. The pink discolouration was most pronounced at the neck of the teeth. The cause of death was asphyxia. Although the examiners stressed that post-mortem pink teeth must not be considered as a reliable odontological parameter for determining the cause of death, the results of other studies have shown that the pink teeth phenomenon is a common finding related to cases of asphyxia such as strangulation, drowning or suffocation. Thus, the pink teeth phenomenon must be studied in order to determine its role as a post-mortem finding. As of now, an exact relationship between the cause of death and this phenomenon remains unknown.
