A method for estimating time since death through analysis of substances deposited on the surface of dental enamel in a body immersed in freshwater.

Estimating the elapsed time after death of a corpse immersed in freshwater is often challenging owing to body temperature changes and the degree of postmortem lividity, and the tissues used for this assessment deteriorate drastically as the postmortem period progresses. In this study, assuming a corpse was immersed in freshwater, we analyzed changes in the amount of deposits on the enamel surface of teeth since the time of immersion using an electron probe microanalyzer. We calculated a regression equation for estimating the time of immersion in water (the time after death).