The most common method of DNA analysis detects restriction fragment length polymorphisms and hence requires relatively undegraded DNA, which is difficult to obtain from dead or old materials. The tooth, however, is protected with hard tissues such as enamel, dentin, and cement, which preserves the pulp in the center of the tooth with very little contamination with microbes with abundant capillary blood, odontoblasts, etc. This study tested the hypothesis that DNA can be obtained from the dental pulp. Samples of tooth-derived DNA were digested with a restriction enzyme, electrophosed through agarose gel, and subjected to Southern blot hybridization using a 32P-labeled minisatellite DNA probe "Myo" and a Y chromosome-specific DNA probe. The results of this study indicate that DNA extracted from dental pulp is useful for the identification of individuals, paternity testing, and sex determination. 5 figures and 11 references