The application of dental methods of identification to human burn victims in a mass disaster

This paper deals with the usefulness of dental identification in the case o f 28 human burn victims of a bus accident in Spain. Postmortem forensic pro cedures for identification were used including general external examination , routine photographs and radiographs and complementary biological methods. Dental identification was also used and a description of the method is pre sented. Dental identification was established in 57% of the cases. When vic tims were less than 20 years of age, the success rare of identification by dental methods was higher (76% of victims in this age group). The assessmen t of dental age allowed the establishment of identity of four victims. We r ecommend that dental procedures be used in human identification after mass disasters. Odontological and radiographic procedures are powerful methods w hen dealing with burn victims.