Understanding the intermicroscopy variability between Optical and 3D Digital microscopy in the quantification of human dental diet-related striations

Dental microwear analysis is a widely used non-destructive method that provides insights into the adoption of specific diets, food preparation methods, and the conduction of paramasticatory activities using the mouth through the examination of dental features on the enamel surfaces. Recent methodological trends in the analysis of human dental wear have enriched the possibilities of the discipline, yet scarcely provide insights into the comparability of the values obtained from different microscopes on the same dental features. In this study, we microscopically observe the dental wear patterns of labial and buccal surfaces from 4 populations of the Iberian Late Prehistory, aiming to understand the level of intermicroscopy variability between the values of an optical microscope (ZEISS Axioscope A1 metallographic) and a 3D digital microscope (Hirox KH-8700). Within this framework, we adopt a dual microscopy approach, combining the existing methodological steps of the two microscopes, aiming to explore the level of agreement among the values obtained from both pieces of equipment. In this context, we provide, to our knowledge, the first ground for the quantification of diet-related wear patterns on human teeth using a Hirox KH-8700 3D digital microscope, underscoring its possibilities and observing discrepancies in the methodological implementation of the specific equipment in examining microscopic diet-related dental striations.