Authors
Dr. Anoli Agrawal, Dr. Aniket Agrawal, Dr. Hemlata Pandey, Dr. Arun Dodamani
Abstract
Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) is mainly based on the comparison of Ante Mortem data of the missing persons and Post Mortem data of the victims. Odontology, being one of the primary identification methods, plays a very important role in victim identification on the condition that dental ante mortem data are available and accessible. Forensic odontology is involved in all five phases—Scene, Post- mortem, Antemortem, Reconciliation and Debrief. Planning, adequate funding, international cooperation and standardization are essential to guarantee an effective response. A Standard Operation Procedure should be utilized to maximize quality, facilitate occupation and health issues, maintain security and form a structure to the relief program. Keywords: Forensic odontology, Disaster victim identification, Disaster management Checklist
Introduction
Over the years forensic odontology has been a major contributor to the identification of victims in disasters. Today forensic odontology is considered to be a specialized and reliable method of identification of the deceased, particularly in multiple fatality incidents. Forensic odontology is one of three primary identifiers designated by Interpol to identify victims of mass casualty events (Berketa et al., 149; Moody, 65; Lain et al., 363; James, 6; Cordner et al., 2011; www.interpol.int). As dental structures are the most durable of human tissue (Whittaker, 146), the utilization of odontology continues to provide evidence of identification of victims subjected to the extremes of heat, trauma or decomposition (Avon, 454; De Valck, 16). Even when victims are not severely compromised, forensic odontology proves to be rapid and cost-effective relative to DNA analysis. The Interpol DVI Standing Committee recommends that planning, adequate funding, international cooperation and standardization is essential to guarantee an effective response (Figure No. 1 to 3) and Figure No. 4 is the Modified Interpol post-mortem odontogram. (De Valck, 17).
However, every multiple fatality incident response has its idiosyncrasies that will require both flexibility and planning (James, 275). Dental teams are utilized in collecting and systematically recording both antemortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) data, as well as comparing the data and reporting the evidence. They are therefore involved in all five phases––Scene, Post-mortem, Antemortem, Reconciliation and Debrief. To maintain quality control, each phase should have a dental team leader who manages the daily activities of the phase and reports to the odontology coordinator. The odontology coordinator oversees all odontology aspects and reports to the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Commander. The less experienced odontologist must be paired with an experienced odontologist to limit error. To minimize bias no odontologist should peer-review their data nor be involved in reconciliation if they have had input at an earlier stage. This review aims at a better understanding of the role of Forensic odontologists in disaster Victim Identification.
References
Al-Amad, S et al. “Craniofacial Identification by Computer-Mediated Superimposition.” The Journal of Forensic Odonto-stomatology vol. 24, 2 (2006): 47-52.
Andersen Torpet, L. “DVI System International: Software Assisting in the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Process.” The Journal of Forensic Odonto-stomatology vol. 2 ,1 (2005): 19-25.
Avon, Sylvie Louise. “Forensic Odontology: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Dentist.” Journal (Canadian Dental Association) vol. 70,7 (2004): 453-8.
Bassed, Richard, and Jodie Leditschke. “Forensic Medical Lessons Learned from the Victorian Bushfire Disaster: Recommendations from the Phase 5 Debrief.” Forensic Science International vol. 205, 1-3 (2011): 73-6. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.06.026
Berketa, J., et al. “Dental Implant Changes Following Incineration.” Forensic Science International, vol. 207, no. 1–3, 2011, pp. 50–54. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.08.025.
Berketa, John W., et al. "Radiographic Recognition of Dental Implants as an Aid to Identifying the Deceased." Journal of Forensic Sciences 55.1 (2010): 66-70.
Berketa, J et al. “Survival of Batch Numbers within Dental Implants Following Incineration as an Aid to Identification.” The Journal of Forensic Odonto-stomatology vol. 28, 1 1-4. 1 Dec. 2010
Berketa, John William et al. “Forensic Odontology Involvement in Disaster Victim Identification.” Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology vol. 8, 2 (2012): 148-56. doi:10.1007/s12024-011-9279-9
Byard, Roger W., et al. “Practical Issues Involved in Setting up Temporary Mortuaries after Mass Disasters.” Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2006, pp. 59–62. Crossref, doi:10.1385/fsmp:2:1:59.
Byard, Roger W, and Calle Winskog. “Letter to the Editor-Quality Assurance in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Exercises.” Journal of Forensic Sciences vol. 55, 4 (2010): 1135. doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01419.x.
Byard, Roger W, and Calle Winskog. “Potential Problems Arising During International Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Exercises.” Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology vol. 6, 1 (2010): 1-2. doi:10.1007/s12024-009-9141-5
Cordner, Stephen M et al. “Forensic aspects of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Disaster.” Forensic science International vol. 205,1-3 (2011): 2-7. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.08.008
De Valck, Eddy. “Major incident response: collecting ante-mortem data.” Forensic science international vol. 159 Suppl 1 (2006): 15-9. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.02.004
“Disaster Victim Identification Guide”. INTERPOL. Accessed on 24 September 2021, Accessed from http://www.interpol.int/Public/DisasterVictim/guide/guide.pdf.
Hill, Anthony J et al. “Preservation of Dental Evidence Following Exposure to High Temperatures.” Forensic Science International vol. 205,1-3 (2011): 40-3. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.08.011
Hinchliffe, J. “Forensic Odontology, Part 2. Major Disasters.” British Dental Journal vol. 210,6 (2011): 269-74. doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.2011.199
James, Helen, and Jane Taylor. “Australasian and Multinational Disaster Victim Identification.” Forensic Dental Evidence, 2011, pp. 273–86. Crossref, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-382000-6.00014-7.
James, H. “Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Overview to Date.” The Journal of Forensic Odonto-stomatology vol. 23,1 (2005): 1-18.
Lain, Russell et al. “Forensic dental and medical response to the Bali bombing. A personal perspective.” The Medical journal of Australia vol. 179,7 (2003): 362-5. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05594.x
Moody, G H, and A Busuttil. “Identification in the Lockerbie Air Disaster.” The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology vol. 15,1 (1994): 63-9. doi:10.1097/00000433-199403000-00014
Rutty, Guy N et al. “The Tsunami: An Environmental Mass Disaster.” Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology vol. 1,1 (2005): 3-7. doi:10.1385/FSMP:1:1:003
Salo, S et al. “Data Transmission in Dental Identification of Mass Disaster Victims.” The Journal of Forensic Odonto-stomatology vol. 25,1 (2007): 17-22.
Silver, William, and Richard Souviron. Dental Autopsy. Abingdon, United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2009.
Sweet, David. “INTERPOL DVI Best-practice Standards - An overview.” Forensic Science International vol. 201,1-3 (2010): 18-21. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.02.031
Whittaker, D K. “Forensic Dentistry in the Identification of Victims and Assailants.” Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine vol. 2,3 (1995): 145-51. doi:10.1016/1353-1131(95)90083-7
Dental Identification System. WinID3. 2004. Accessed on 24 September 2021, Accessed from http://www.winid.com/codes.htm.
Dental Identification System WinID3. 2006. Accessed on 24 September 2021, Accessed from http://www.winid.com/index.htm.
Winskog, Calle et al. “The educational value of Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) missions-transfer of knowledge.” Forensic science, medicine, and pathology vol. 8,2 (2012): 84-7. doi:10.1007/s12024-011-9259-0
Wood, R E, and S L Kogon. “Dental radiology considerations in DVI incidents: A review.” Forensic science international vol. 201,1-3 (2010): 27-32. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.018
How to cite this article?
| APA Style | Agrawal, D. A., Agrawal, D. A., Pandey, D. H., & Dodamani, D. A. (2021). Dentistry In Course Of Disaster Victim Identification. Academic Journal of Anthropological Studies, 04(02), 15–22. |
| Chicago Style | |
| MLA Style | |
| DOI | |
| URL |