Objective: To investigate the prosthodontic level of our country in Ming Dynasty (from A. D. 1368 to A. D. 1644) and provide our courtry's history of stomatological development with some details.
Methods: By means of range estimation and SEM, the structure and shape of the metal crowns on the two human teeth which were unearthed from a Ming Dynasty grave, numbered 0754/0046 and stored in Wujin museum of Jiangsu province, as well as the compositions of the crowns and its cements were examined and analysed preliminarily.
Results: The two teeth looked like upper anterior teeth and no marks of preparations were observed. The golden-yellow metal crowns might have been hammered and welded into shape. The spectrum analysis of SEM showed the crowns were made from gold-copper alloy and the cements contains Zinc.
Conclusion: The defects of teeth could have been restored with extra-hard gold-copper alloy and cement luting materials during A. D. 1500-1600 in China.