I graduated from Sinclair College, in my hometown Dayton, Ohio with an Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene and started my academic and professional career. While a student of dental hygiene, my professor, Dr. Stephen Holliday, briefly recounted a case that required dental records to make a positive identification of the severely decomposed remains of a young woman. One photo of the remains, contrasted to the photo of the identified decedent, fascinated me. His objective was to underscore the often unseen importance of accurate dental records, diagnostic and explanatory images (including radiographs and photographs). In addition, the dental provider has the responsibility to protect the validity of that record for the long haul (not just the minimum number of years that your state dental board dictates* or even just the seven years the ADA recommends). He moved on, having made his point, but a forensic dentistry seed was planted for me that day.
After graduation, I began to research forensic dentistry: immersion courses, study clubs, fellowships, internships, academic and membership societies that are centered around this area of forensic science. I quickly learned that forensic work is not a departure from patient-based practice as there is not a high enough demand for a steady caseload in human identification. I was not deterred since I was not seeking an alternative career. Many dental professionals contact me for direction and career advice. I always tell them that, in my experience, my day job pays the bills (not the nights and weekends at the morgue).
Looking back over my now nearly 20 years of practicing in forensic odontology, the work clinically, at most times, is rather circumspect. We have protocols, a chain of command, a chain of evidentiary custody and we each share and respect the Code of Ethics to which all members of the forensic professions must adhere. Though it may be cliché, each case is still different, regardless of the process of examination that is required to name the unnamed. Each person has a family and a history left behind.
The decedents are from all walks of life. I’ve given identity opinions to medical examiners and death investigators on the remains of decorated war heroes, children, elders, criminals, murderers, rapists, the wealthy and the destitute. A confirmed, positive identification of a dead suspect is just as fundamental to a criminal investigation, to close it or to direct or redirect investigations, and to link multiple cases together. It has been my experience that odontology has been used for a dental identification from known existing dental records, as well as extracting teeth from the decedent for DNA analysis. Dental pulp is a fantastic and rich source of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. When the rest of the body is decomposed, fragmented, burned or skeletonized, many times the teeth remain!
The unnamed can be many such as when a disaster occurs. Regardless of the origin of the event, whether it be from a natural event such as weather or wild fires or something else like an aircraft crash or act of terrorism. Numerous nations, including the United States, activate a strictly structured, federalized mortuary affairs unit to manage the dead. This activation is important if the number of fatalities is too high to be managed efficiently and appropriately by the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred.
