odontology
by Leif Kullman
Identifications
All identifications of unknown human beings are comparisons between antemortem (before death) records of a missing person and postmortem records from the body. The identification can be carried out by a policeman, a doctor in Forensic medicine or by Forensic odontologist. Most identifications are performed in a policiary way through a confrontation. The body is then in good condition and a relative can recognise the deceased or a comparison can be made with photographs. The most secure way to make a policiary identification is to use fingerprints. It can be compared with an odontological method where the individual characteristics of the teeth (fillings, crowns, missing or not and so on) are matched. An odontological identification is mostly used when the body of an unknown is considerable destroyed or putrefied. The teeth are the hardest tissue of the body and resist most outer damaging
Odontological identifications
The unique resistance of the teeth and the accessibility of antemortem dental records together create the necessary conditions for successful dental identifications. Most people have some time visited a dentist and radiographs are also often available. In many countries the law charge that records should be written and kept for some time. In countries without these regulations and laws, there are more difficult to use odontological experts in identification cases. There are cases where only a probable identification can be made or even only an elimination of a person. The reasons to this can be that the received antemortem records were very unreliable, perhaps with many personal abbreviations and symbols and no available antemortem radiographs. A further reason can be that the postmortem material can be too small, perhaps only fragments of the jaws and teeth persist.
A little more about the accuracy and security in an
odontological identification
In most cases in Sweden the records are enough reliable and it is also very seldom that only fragments of the jaws are available. Hence in most odontological cases in Sweden a safe identification can be stated only by comparing the written antemortem records with the postmortem dental findings. In cases with unreliable records it is necessary to take postmortem radiographs of the same regions that were radiographed antemortem. Radiographs is a very accurate and reliable method, an identity without any doubt can then be stated. However there is always an element of professional evaluation and this process is a as largest and difficult to perform in cases without a possibility to use radiographs. Most forensic dental experts agrees upon 12 concordant features (i.e. filled tooth surface, extracted tooth) as a minimum requirement for postulating an identity. The same number of requirements are claimed by the police in fingerprint matters to establish an identity.
Since our dental health has became better many children and juveniles nowadays have most of their teeth intact. In these the written records will be an insufficient basis for an identification. Radiographs must then be used and different anatomical features (i.e. shape and size of the crown and root, position in the tooth arch, distances between teeth) may be used. Identification missions in disasters with younger victims have therefore became a more time consuming and difficult task. Another thing that has made odontological identifications more difficult is our modern aesthetical and fashionable tooth care. Different sort of materials are used that resemble the tooth itself and this fact makes it easy for the forensic odontologist to miss the filling during thepostmortem registration. If a existing filling is stated in a tooth in the antemortem records and none is found postmortem an elimination of this candidate can be false declared.
It is not necessary to use the own teeth in odontological identifications. Edentulous human beings, wearing full dentures can also be identified if the denture is marked with the social security number of the owner. In Sweden all dentists should propose all edentulous a marking of the denture. Many cases with unidentified persons are solved in this way in Sweden every year. Of course the marking is also useful to found the right owner to dropped dentures and a lot of money can be saved for society.
Next month I will tell you more about a identification case from "real life", where the odontological contribution was of great importance.
Leif Kullman
