# Cremation Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304 "2000-03-28T20:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chrome\_Toaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Chrome\_Toaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chrome_Toaster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304/1 "2000-03-29T06:08:00Z")
Are there piles of teeth left over after people are cremated? We occasionally hear of unfortunate house-fire vicitms, identifiable only by dental records, which indicates that teeth can withstand a lot of heat. But how hot is a house fire? Cecil says that cremation takes place at about 1600 degrees. Is that sufficient to render the teeth into a pile of ashes? If not, what is done with all of the teeth? ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304/2 "2000-03-29T06:16:00Z")
In addition to the burning, I believe there is also a crushing stage in the cremation process. The teeth and bones are made quite brittle by the extreme heat and are easily pulverized. ---
**Author:** ![jconklin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@jconklin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jconklin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304/3 "2000-03-29T06:35:00Z")
I’d have to side with Ursa. A friend of mine works in a crematorium (I thought she was cute until I found that out), and she tells me that all remnants of the burning phase (i.e. teeth and bones) are ground into a powder and combined with the ashes. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304/4 "2000-03-29T06:47:00Z")
In most modern crematoriums, there is a crushing machine—the “cremains” are swept into it from the oven; this would be skeletal remains and teeth. Then it’s crushed to a kitty-litter-like substance. When I visited a crematorium for a college class in the mid-'70s, the bones were swept out onto the floor and crushed with a road-tamper—yikes! But it still beats the hell out of what happens when you just get buried in a coffin. ---
**Author:** ![Rahul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rahul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rahul)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-question/9304/5 "2000-03-28T20:59:00Z")
At funeral pyres and other crematorial fires, a cool sound which everyone anticipates anxiously is that of the skull popping! * * * There are far too many Baldwins. The only Baldwin I care for is a piano …