Fourier-transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) has been used in assessment of sectioned or pulverised teeth, and some consideration has been given to intact teeth in context of demineralisation and decay. This study considered the use of FT-NIR for characterization of sound (undecayed) intact teeth, both inside and outside custody bags. Replicate spectra of the same unbagged tooth were consistently grouped in principal component (PC) space, while spectra from different teeth were separated in PC space. The window of the custody bag carried a spectral signature that impacted the tooth-in-bag spectra, but subtraction of the window spectrum from tooth-in-bag spectra was successful in removal of this influence, with the corrected tooth-in-bag spectra aligning to the spectra of the same tooth outside the bag in PC space. Spectra of teeth of the same individual were discriminated from those of other individuals. Potential applications of this technology are discussed.

傅立叶变换近红外光谱（FT-NIR）已用于评估断面或磨碎的牙齿，并且在脱矿质和腐烂的情况下对完好的牙齿进行了一些考虑。这项研究考虑了使用FT-NIR来表征监护袋内外的完好无损的完整牙齿。同一颗无袋牙的复制光谱始终在主成分（PC）空间中分组，而来自不同牙齿的光谱在PC空间中分离。保管袋的窗口带有影响袋中牙光谱的光谱特征，但是通过校正后的袋中牙光谱，从袋中牙光谱中减去窗口光谱可以成功消除这种影响对准PC空间中袋子外部同一颗牙齿的光谱。同一个人的牙齿光谱与其他个人的光谱有所区别。讨论了该技术的潜在应用。