The National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST) will host a seminar titled “Analyses of Dental Remains from 1607 Jamestown, Virginia using Micro-CT Imaging, SEM-EDX/Raman Spectroscopy and Paleobotany” on Wednesday, May 31, 2017. NIST forensic scientists and other invited guests will attend.

Presenters: Barry Pass, DDS, PhD, Howard University; Martin D. Levin, DMD, University of Pennsylvania

Abstract: The first English settlement in North America was established in 1607, at Jamestown, VA. The first casualty in Jamestown was a 15 year old boy, the apparent victim of an Indian attack. His excavated remains show an arrow head at the thigh, broken left collarbone, and anterior mandible with Ellis Type III fracture of mandibular left central incisor, with significant periapical pathological bone resorption. The objectives of this multidisciplinary study are to elucidate the nature and chronology of odontogenic cause(s) of mandibular pathosis evident in 1225B skeletal remains, and analyze contents of fractured teeth root canals to assist assembling a corporeal and physiological history. This case presentation will impact the forensic and archeological communities by demonstrating how evidence-based science and technology can improve efficiency, quality, accuracy, reliability, and functional excellence in forensic sciences.

Bios: Dr. Barry Pass is presently Professor of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology in the Howard University College of Dentistry and Graduate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He has a PhD in physics, a DDS, completed post-graduate training in oral and maxillofacial radiology, and maintains a referral practice in that dental specialty. His past research interests were centered on using electron spin resonance in dental enamel for human radiation dosimetry of unintended exposures to ionizing radiation. Cohorts that he has studied include military participants of atomic weapons testing during and after WWII and victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Dr. Pass also maintains research interests in dental diagnostic imaging and is currently involved in forensic radiographic and spectroscopic studies of skeletal remains from the 1607 Jamestown Fort in Virginia.

Dr. Martin Levin is in private practice limited to endodontics in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He is Adjunct Professor of Endodontics and Chair of the Dean’s Council at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as Co-Chair of the Joint Special Committee on the Use of Cone Beam Computed Tomography, American Association of Endodontists and the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. Dr. Levin is currently appointed to the AAE’s Special Committee to Develop an Outcomes Consensus Conference. He is a contributor to Pathways of the Pulp, and Ingle’s Endodontics, as well as the author of numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Levin earned his degree in dental medicine and completed his endodontic training at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics.

Dr. Levin will address the USC International Endo Symposium in Los Angeles on December 8, 2017 on the use of CBCT in the volumetric analysis of apical periodontitis using post-processing software. The program will include open source software such as ITK-SNAP, Image J and  3DMeshMetric to determine the volumetric size of periapical lesions. According to Dr. Levin, this technology may improve our understanding of endodontic healing.

Click for a link to The USC 16th International Endodontic Symposium.

Archeologic sites are often damaged by weather and disruptions caused by subsequent populations, leaving small bone fragments to tell the story of their inhabitants. Skeletal remains at Jamestown are being scanned by Martin D. Levin, DMD, and Barry Pass, DDS, PhD, at the Jamestown Rediscovery lab with a Carestream Dental CS 3600 unit. The resulting scan files may lead to computer-aided reconstruction of the specimens in association with D. Joshua Cohen, MD, and his team at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University.

“This technology may provide an opportunity to image skeletal remains at archeological sites where small bone fragments are excavated,” Dr. Levin said.

Further information on this project is available at the Carestream Dental Media Room and Virginia Commonwealth University News.

The Society for Historical Archaeology has invited Martin D. Levin, DMD and D. Joshua Cohen, MD to present a lecture at their annual meeting, SHA 2017 Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology to be held on January 4-8, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. The title of the presentation is “A Detailed Analysis of the Dentition of Jamestown’s First Settlers.”

The lecture will highlight the work of archaeologists and an interdisciplinary team of researchers who are studying the skull and dentition of a 15-year-old boy (JR1225B) who appears to have been the victim of a battle with Native Americans during the initial settlement at Jamestown in 1607. Specimens recovered from the boy’s teeth and jaws yield clues about diet and other aspects of daily life in the 17^th century.

Detailed study of the remains began with the morphological and temporal study of the skull and teeth using cone-beam computed tomography, intraoral radiography, micro computed, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The exposed root canal of the mandibular left central incisor and carious lesion provides a unique repository of particulate matter in the oral cavity and the associated intra-alveolar periapical lesion.

This research shows how advanced technologies can be used to characterize aspects of life and the disease state of skeletal remains.

The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) has asked Dr. Levin to join a newly formed Special Committee to Develop an Outcomes Consensus Conference. He joins Dr. Kenneth M. Hargreaves, Dr. Jennifer L. Gibbs and Dr. Alan Law in this effort to develop a scoping review of endodontic outcomes, followed by a core outcomes set (COS).  The work of the committee will be announced in upcoming communications from the association.

Dr. Levin, Adjunct Professor of Endodontics at the University of Pennsylvania, will present a keynote lecture and pre-congress workshop at the International Federation of Endodontic Associations in Cape Town, SA, 10th World Endodontic Congress.

His pre-congress workshop will highlight limited field of  view CBCT in Endodontics.  “In  endodontics,  the  region  of  interest  is  generally  small  and   pre-­determined,   favoring  the  selection  of  limited  field  of  view  (FOV)  CBCT  scans  with  lower  x-­ radiation  exposure,  smaller  volumes  to  be  interpreted  and  increased  resolution.       All  radiographs  require  careful  and  complete  analysis  because  they  may  contain   findings  that  affect  the  health  of  the  patient. This  hands-­on  program  will  present  a  systematic  method  for  navigating  and   documenting  high  resolution,  limited  FOV  scans  using  multiple  clinical  cases.”