Quick Answer
In most cases, teeth are left in the body during cremation. While dental gold and silver fillings or other dental work may melt or burn away during cremation, the teeth themselves will not be removed prior to cremation in typical circumstances. However, there are some exceptions where teeth may be removed first.
Do morticians remove teeth before cremation?
For a standard adult cremation, morticians do not remove the teeth from the body prior to cremation. The high heat of the cremation process will incinerate and break down the teeth, along with the rest of the body.
Here are some key points on standard practices for teeth and cremation:
- Teeth are left in place in the body during a routine cremation.
- Any dental fillings or dental work made from gold, silver, or other metals may melt or burn away during cremation.
- The high heat breaks down and calcifies the teeth, like the rest of the bones.
- The remaining calcified teeth fragments will be crushed along with the bone fragments after cremation.
- These tooth and bone fragments are returned to the family or placed in an urn in the same cremated remains.
So in most typical circumstances, there is no need for morticians to extract teeth prior to cremation. The cremation process takes care of breaking down the teeth on its own.
Why teeth are left in for cremation
There are several reasons why morticians usually do not remove teeth specifically for a cremation:
- It avoids unnecessarily altering the body – Cremation aims to fully break down the entire body, teeth included. Removing teeth would create unnecessary alteration to the body before cremation.
- It avoids added time and costs – Extracting individual teeth prior to cremation would require extra time, work, and costs for the mortician. This added effort is viewed as unnecessary since cremation will break down the teeth anyway.
- It allows the teeth to be returned with the cremains – Leaving teeth in place means any remaining calcified tooth fragments will be crushed up with the bone fragments after cremation. This allows the full body, including teeth, to be returned together.
- There are no regulations requiring tooth removal – There are no industry-wide regulations or laws that require removing teeth for cremation, so it is not a standard practice.
Unless there are special circumstances, morticians can simply proceed with cremation knowing that the high heat and processing afterwards will take care of reducing the teeth to fragments along with the rest of the cremated remains.
Exceptions where teeth may be removed
While leaving teeth in place for cremation is the normal procedure, there are some exceptions where morticians may remove one or more teeth before a cremation:
- If the family requests tooth removal – Some families may request extracting teeth that have sentimental value, such as a tooth from a loved one. This is rare, but can be done if specifically requested.
- For identification purposes – In unusual cases involving unidentified remains, a tooth may be extracted to aid in establishing identity based on dental records.
- If there are tooth implants or non-human teeth – Tooth implants, dentures, or non-human teeth may need to be extracted prior to cremation since they may not break down readily or could damage equipment.
- For infants with few/no teeth – For cremation of infants or young children with few or no teeth present, morticians may choose to extract any present teeth.
However, these cases represent exceptions to the standard procedure. For most typical adult cremations, the mortician will leave any teeth in place and allow the cremation process to reduce them to fragments.
What happens to teeth during cremation?
During the modern cremation process, teeth undergo the same breakdown and calcification as the rest of the bones in the body:
- Heat dries out dental pulp – The high heat, reaching over 1400°F, will dry out and destroy the soft dental pulp inside teeth.
- Enamel and dentin burn away – The intense heat burns away the hard enamel coating and dense dentin interior of the teeth.
- Tooth roots fragment – The roots anchoring each tooth will become brittle from heat and fracture away from the jawbone.
- Heated gas calcifies teeth – Superheated gas circulating in the chamber chemically alters the teeth, calcifying the remaining components.
- Tooth fragments are crushed – Any chunks of calcified tooth are crushed into smaller fragments after cremation, along with bone fragments.
This pulverizing of tooth enamel, exterior, roots and interior leaves only tiny, coarse grains of calcified tooth, which are indistinguishable from bone fragments. Any metal dental work also burns away or melts from the intense heat. In the end, only harmless calcified particles of tooth and bone remain.
What happens to dental work during cremation?
During cremation, the high heat impacts any dental work present in the teeth:
- Gold, silver, platinum fillings/crowns – Precious metal dental work will melt out or burn away, vaporizing or liquefying from the heat.
- Porcelain fillings/veneers – Porcelain and ceramic will crack from heat and separate from the teeth.
- Metal posts or implants – Metal rod implants or posts in the jaw will heat up and detach from bone during cremation.
- Non-human teeth – Dentures, implants, or other non-human teeth added to the mouth may react unpredictably and potentially damage cremation equipment.
The cremation chamber reaches temperatures high enough to melt, vaporize, or destroy any dental work. Any small melted precious metal traces end up in the cremation chamber ashes, not the actual cremated remains. The intense heat removes all dental work effectively.
Will teeth crack or explode in cremation?
Due to the rapid heating, drying, and calcifying processes, there are sometimes claims that teeth or dental fillings could crack or explode within the cremation chamber. However, this is extremely unlikely during typical cremations.
Here’s a look at the facts around teeth issues in cremations:
- Teeth do not crack from heat – While the pulp, moisture, and organic components are destroyed, the overall tooth structure remains intact initially and calcifies without cracking.
- Fillings won’t explode teeth – Dental work does not explode teeth from heat or pressure changes, though fillings may melt or fall out.
- Cracks happen after cremation – Some cracking or crumbling of the fragile calcified teeth and bone fragments happens during processing after cremation.
- No teeth or fragments are ejected – There is no force within the cremation chamber that could eject pieces of teeth, fillings, or related debris.
Modern crematories are designed to cremate human bodies, including teeth, in a safe, controlled process. While the materials making up teeth and dental work are altered, there is no eruption or ejection of tooth segments within the chamber.
Can you restructure teeth fragments after cremation?
Once teeth have been through the complete cremation process and crushed into fragments, it is not possible to restructure or reconstruct them back into anything resembling natural teeth.
During and after cremation, the teeth undergo permanent changes:
- Heating removes all organic components – The high heat destroys all the soft pulp, nerves, roots, and organic matter in teeth, leaving only the hardest mineral elements.
- Tooth structure is lost – The overall tooth anatomy and structure is lost as exterior enamel and interior dentin components calcify.
- All moisture is eliminated – Teeth are dehydrated, with all fluid and moisture baked out. Rehydrating and recombining fragments is impossible.
- Fragments are too small – Individual tooth fragments are tiny mixed pieces, not whole teeth.
These severe physical and chemical changes mean teeth cannot be restored to their original structure or form after cremation. At most, fragments of calcified teeth may be identifiable among the cremated remains but cannot be reconstituted.
Can you keep teeth after they are extracted?
If a tooth is extracted by a dentist prior to cremation or death, in most cases that tooth can be kept and preserved if desired. Here are some tips for saving extracted natural teeth:
- Ask the dentist to return the tooth – Request that any teeth extracted be returned so they can be saved.
- Clean and rinse the tooth – Carefully clean away any clinging tissue then rinse.
- Allow to dry – Let the tooth fully air dry for 1-2 days until hard.
- Store in specialized tooth case – Place in a sealed tooth preservation case with padding.
- Keep in cool, dry place – Store the sealed case in a dark, cool, dry location.
- Avoid handling – Prevent additional handling or disturbance once stored.
Following these steps allows extracted natural teeth to be preserved for sentimental reasons or for use in creating special jewelry or mementos. Handling should be minimized once preserved to prevent damage.
With proper extraction, cleaning, drying, and storage methods, natural human teeth can be kept indefinitely. However, if cremation has already occurred, the process destroys and alters teeth to a point beyond recovery or restoration.
Can you request teeth be removed before cremation?
Requesting teeth removal before cremation is not normally done but can be arranged if the deceased’s family has a specific reason for wanting one or more teeth saved:
- Make the request to the mortician – The family should directly ask the mortician to extract specified teeth prior to cremation.
- Be prepared to pay extra costs – There will likely be added charges for time and materials to perform intentional tooth extraction.
- Know it may delay cremation – Removing teeth adds steps and will postpone the actual cremation by a day or more.
- Provide a container – The family will need to provide a special container to hold the extracted teeth.
- Expect limited teeth – Typically only 1-2 intact teeth may be removed, not a whole set.
- Know regulations – Tooth removal policies depend on the crematory and local regulations.
With advance request and acknowledgment of additional costs, a mortician can perform selective tooth removal prior to cremation in special family circumstances. This is an exception to standard procedures where teeth normally remain in place.
Is it legal to take teeth from a cadaver?
It is generally illegal and unethical for a random individual to remove teeth from a human cadaver. However, there are certain conditions where legal tooth removal may occur:
- By a licensed professional – A licensed mortician or dentist may extract teeth from a cadaver if authorized by next of kin.
- For medical research – Teeth may be removed from donated cadavers by medical researchers or schools.
- For identification – Coroner offices may remove teeth from unidentified bodies if needed to establish identity.
- For educational use – Dental and medical schools can legally obtain cadaver teeth for educational laboratories and training.
Random collection or taking of teeth from the deceased is never permitted. But authorized personnel like morticians and researchers can legally extract teeth in certain situations for identification, research, or educational needs.
Proper documentation and consent must be obtained first in order for tooth removal from cadavers to be considered legal and ethical. Unauthorized or random tooth removal fails to meet these conditions and standards.
Can you be identified by dental records after cremation?
Once full cremation occurs, bodies can no longer be identified by dental records. The extreme heat and processing destroys enough tooth anatomy and structure to make dental record identification impossible.
Here’s why cremated remains cannot be identified using dental records:
- Heat deforms tooth anatomy – Details like shape, cusps, grooves, and placement used to match dental records are lost.
- Tooth interiors calcify – Interior pulp and dentin layers used for dental x-rays cannot be matched after cremation.
- Fragment mixing occurs – Crushed particles of tooth, bone, and other materials blend together.
- Most fragments are microscopic – Tiny grain sizes of the powdery remains make visual ID impossible.
The cremation process eliminates almost all usable identifying details that make dental record identification possible. Only general mineral content testing could be attempted on the homogenized remains.
Do dental fillings or crowns explode in cremation?
Despite longstanding myths, dental fillings and metal crowns do not violently explode during the cremation process. Here’s a look at what actually happens:
- No rapid steam buildup – Dental work does not trap moisture that could quickly vaporize and explode.
- Metals melt and flow out – Softer filler metals like silver and gold melt and drain away gradually from heat.
- Ceramics crack and flake – Brittle ceramic crowns develop small heat cracks but do not burst.
- No filling or crown chunks eject – There is no eruption force to eject dental work debris within the chamber.
- Only non-human teeth may react – Unnatural teeth like dentures may have unpredictable reactions to high heat.
The temperatures and internal conditions during modern cremations will not cause dramatic explosions of dental materials. Instead, fillings and crowns slowly decompose or melt away.
Is there any risk leaving teeth in during cremation?
Despite urban legends about exploding teeth, there are no risks or dangers associated with leaving teeth in place for a standard adult cremation.
Here are some facts about tooth risks and cremation safety:
- Temperatures are tightly controlled – Crematories bring the chamber to a high but carefully controlled heat range to cremate bodies and teeth safely.
- Chamber is sealed – The cremation unit forms an enclosed, sealed environment.
- Trained professionals oversee – Certified operators supervise the entire professional cremation process.
- No projectile tooth segments – There are no volatile reactions with teeth that could eject pieces.
- Remains are thoroughly processed – Following cremation, any calcified tooth and bone chunks are crushed to a uniform powder.
Modern cremation equipment and professional methods make the process quite safe for remains including teeth. There are no special risks or dangers leaving teeth in place during cremation.
Conclusion
For typical adult cremations, teeth are left in place in the body rather than extracted first. The high heat and processing of cremation safely breaks down both teeth and dental work, leaving only harmless mineralized fragments. In special cases, such as an infant cremation or preserving sentimental value, teeth may be extracted beforehand at the family’s request. But generally, removing teeth prior to cremation is an unnecessary step since they will be pulverized along with the rest of the skeletal structure during the process. While dental work does not violently explode, metals will liquify and ceramics will crack from the heat. The resulting tooth fragments then mix together with all other bone fragments in the final cremated remains.