ODONTOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF FIRE VICTIMS - POTENTIALITIES AND LIMITATIONS

A retrospective study was performed to analyse the power of odontologi cal evidence in burn victims. The material comprised 292 single fire c ases registered at 4 centers of forensic odontology in Scandinavia (DK : Aarhus, Copenhagen; N: Oslo; S: Goteborg) covering a 10-year period. Filed antemortem (am) and postmortem (pm) data were critically review ed and registered. New systems for classification of the degree of inj uries to the teeth and jaws and of the quality of dental records were developed. Matching dental am-pm units/features were recorded using th e tooth as unit. Units were scored as either ordinary or extraordinary if the frequency of occurrence in a Danish reference population was g reater than or equal to 10% or < 10%, respectively. The ID conclusion of a single case was classified into one of the categories: no conclus ion, ID possible, ID probable or ID established, depending on the numb er of ordinary/extraordinary matching units. All age groups were repre sented. Most fatal bums occurred in house fires (62%) and there was a preponderance of males (71%). Detailed written records supplied by sin gle or by systematic radiographs were available in 71% of cases. About 50% of burn victims were classified into the no-injury group and appr oximately 25% of cases showed injuries to the anterior teeth only. The number and complexity of dental restorations increased with age. The dental examination was a powerful tool in identification of burn victi ms. Thus, dental identity (ID) was established in 61% of burn victims and dental evidence assisted the identification in another 31% (ID pos sible 19%; ID probable 12%). The improvement in dental health status s eems to interfere with the discriminating potential of dental restorat ion as reflected in a lower fraction of established dental ID among fi re victims younger than 20 years old. General use of denture marking w ould improve the proportion of established dental ID. Oral radiographs play an important role in personal identification and systematic expo sures are therefore valuable tools.