Characteristic of Sr Concentration and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶SrIsotope Ratio in Healthy and Carious Teeth and Its Significance

Strontium (Sr) concentration and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic ratio in tooth can provide information on the environment, dietary habits and oral health of individuals. These measures are widely applied in multiple disciplines，such as stomatology, archaeology, medicolegal appraisement and paleoecology. Sr concentration and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratio in healthy and carious teeth of individuals in the southern Shanxi province were determined. The results demonstrated that Sr contentration in human carious teeth was between 79.70 μg/g and 85.80 μg/g, but the Sr contentration in healthy teeth was between 128.00 μg/g and 156.77 μg/g. A significantly lower Sr contentration is found in carious teeth than in healthy teeth. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratio data indicated that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in healthy and carious teeth of individuals of varying ages and genders ranges between 0.710 935 and 0.711 037, which falls into the range of the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr found in the local, naturally occurring water, rocks and soils. The experimental data from this study can further confirm the relationship between Sr and dental caries，and can provide an experimental basis using modern human teeth to apply Sr isotope paleo-environmental significance.