The occurrence and implications of post‐mortem ‘pink teeth’ in forensic and archaeological cases

On sectioning six of eight externally well‐preserved teeth taken from four skeletons from Medieval Chichester they displayed a superficial similarity to teeth described in the forensic literature as ‘pink teeth’. This article reviews the occurrence of ‘pink teeth’ in forensic specimens and describes the teeth from Chichester using a variety of analytical techniques. We conclude that, despite the similarities, the pink coloration in the archaeological specimens has a different cause from the forensic samples, and that in archaeological contexts the pinkness is probably related to post‐mortem change brought about by saprophytic fungi. However, the exact cause of the coloration remains unexplained. We discuss briefly the implications of this observation for dental ageing techniques and other studies of archaeological teeth.