Dental Defects as a Potential Indicator of Chronic Malnutrition in a Population of Fallow Deer (Dama dama) from Northwestern Germany

Abstract

We studied enamel defects in mandibular cheek teeth of fallow deer from an enclosed population that had grown far beyond the carrying capacity of its habitat. Macroscopic inspection revealed a high frequency of pathological enamel alterations in the permanent premolars and the third molar, which form late during dental development, while earlier forming teeth (deciduous premolars and first molar) were generally not affected. Macroscopic enamel alterations comprised opacity and posteruptive discoloration, loss of occlusal enamel ridges, and presence of enamel surface lesions. Backscattered electron imaging in the SEM revealed a marked hypomineralization and related increased porosity of the outer compared to the central and inner enamel portions in the affected teeth. In contrast, the enamel of the unaffected first molars showed a homogeneous high degree of mineralization. Microindentation hardness testing demonstrated a significantly reduced and highly variable hardness of the outer enamel of the affected teeth. The recorded enamel alterations are indicative of a disturbance of enamel maturation. Based on findings of experimental studies by other authors that explored the effects of dietary deficiencies on the mineralization of dental hard tissues in different mammal species, we suggest a dietary calcium deficiency as the cause of the observed pathological enamel changes in the fallow deer. The supposed calcium deficiency only affected teeth whose crown mineralization takes place after weaning, while the deciduous premolars and the first molar, whose crown formation occurs prenatally or during the early postnatal period of intense milk feeding, were unaffected. Anat Rec, 299:1409–1423, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.