Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging of strontium incorporated into the enamel and dentine of wild-shot orangutan canine teeth.

OBJECTIVES

Dental hard tissues contain trace elements of both dietary and environmental origin. One objective was to demonstrate that a longitudinal record of synchronous Sr incorporation into enamel and dentine can be retrieved from museum specimens of once-free-living endangered species. Further objectives were to quantify sudden fluctuations in Sr concentration and estimate the extent of Sr overprinting back into dentine and enamel formed prior to the time of Sr ingestion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Daily incremental markings were used to determine rates and times of tooth formation and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence of the same polished ground sections to image Sr distribution in a male and a female orangutan canine. The X-ray beam was monochromatised to 17.0 keV and focused to 500 × 500 nm. Scans were performed at either 25.0 or 5.0 μm resolution.

RESULTS

Baseline Sr levels ranged between 215-750 ppm. Multiple short, intense Sr labels reaching 750- 1,625 ppm occurred randomly throughout 15-22 years of tooth formation. In dentine, Sr concentration increased gradually away from the EDJ, while in enamel, it reduced towards the enamel surface. Using daily incremental markings, Sr overprinting into earlier formed dentine and enamel was estimated to be ∼12-45 days. There was no evidence of Sr overprinting by maturational ameloblasts.

CONCLUSIONS

A good record of growth and trace element incorporation into tooth tissues can be retrieved from museum specimens. Short, intense Sr labels were equally well time-resolved in enamel and dentine and could be distinguished from more diffuse background levels. Enamel maturation appears to have no quantifiable effect.