Comparative and Absolute Measurements of 11 Inorganic Constituents of 38 Human Tooth Samples with Gamma-ray Spectrometry

The mean concentrations of the following elements have been simultaneously determined in normal human dentine, enamel and dental calculus with gamma-ray spectrometry; Na, P, Cl, Ca, Mn, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, W and Au. In a typical run one sample each of dentine, enamel and dental calculus were irradiated together with standards of the elements to be determined in a thermal neutron flux of 2 x 1012 n/cm/sec for 20 hours. The chemical elements were separated into nine groups with ion exchange technique before the subsequent gamma spectrometric measurements. One man can manage the chemical separations and take the necessary gamma spectra from a run in one day. In a few samples of dentine, enamel and dental calculus which had been irradiated in a thermal neutron flux of 7 x 1013 n/cm/sec for one week the additional long lived trace elements were qualitatively determined Cr, Fe, Co, Rb, Ag, Sb, Cs and Ba