The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was t... more The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was the public place where official announcements were made, public meetings were held and some legal processes were demonstrated. Hence the term has come to refer to those aspects of medicine and dentistry which are applied to the needs of the law. In cases of unexpected death, the crucial function of forensic sciences is determining the who, when, where and how of death. Forensic evidence can facilitate the prosecution of people responsible for criminal or grossly negligent acts, and can inform improvements in medical treatments, personal protective equipment, occupational health and safety procedures and many other aspects of the human environment. In South East Asia, victims of accidents/incidents have often been identified visually, even in the case of disfigurement after high-speed accidents or fires. These visual identification procedures were not carried out to internation
Forensic odontologists are involved in all phases of disaster victim identification (DVI). The fa... more Forensic odontologists are involved in all phases of disaster victim identification (DVI). The failure of DVI management to embed odontology teams within all phases of the investigation and to include them in management decisions throughout the operation may lead to delays in the reconciliation process and could possibly compromise the integrity of the DVI investigation. In the case study presented, trained and experienced teams of forensic odontologists were not utilised to full capacity in all phases of the investigation. The complexity of the initial scene investigation was not identified resulting in the incomplete recovery of all remains. The scene had to be re-examined on three subsequent occasions. The post-mortem examination of the remains had to be deferred until all subsequent material had been collected. The collection of all ante-mortem dental records was not undertaken, resulting in transcription information that was incomplete and compromised. As a result, the reconciliation (formal identification) of the deceased became problematic because of the compounded errors in all phases of this DVI investigation and the resulting odontological report of identification could have jeopardized the integrity of the entire DVI process. Following a review of this case and the recognition of possible areas of omission in the management of the investigation a strategy to address these problems is proposed.
The success of the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) process relies upon sufficient post-morte... more The success of the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) process relies upon sufficient post-mortem data being recovered to allow for a meaningful comparison with ante-mortem records of the missing person. Human bodies subjected to prolonged high temperatures, as experienced during the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, are often reduced to fragile skeletal elements. The dental structures, however, are the most durable tissues of the body and often survive these prolonged high temperatures. Without protecting the fragile remains at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary, disruption of the skeletal and dental elements may occur. This disruption will result in difficulties in obtaining post-mortem evidence and lead to problems during the reconciliation (formal identification) phase of the investigation. In the two case reports presented to illustrate these problems, there was significant loss and degradation of dental structures at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary. In the first case described, where no protection was afforded to the remains, total loss of all anatomical dental structures occurred. In the second case, where protection of the structures was undertaken, vital dental evidence was preserved. As a result of the experience in this particular DVI incident, where remains were exposed to prolonged high temperature and physical damage, new protocols have been formulated. Adherence to these protocols will maximise the recovery and preservation of dental evidence at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary.
The legal matrix under which forensic odontologists practice in Australia is governed by the civi... more The legal matrix under which forensic odontologists practice in Australia is governed by the civil and criminal framework that affects all Australian citizens and therefore healthcare providers including dentists.
In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Vi... more In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Victoria, Australia, forensic odontology played a significant role in the identification process. Particular features of this disaster were challenging to the odontologists. A characteristic of house fires is the extended time period during which the remains may be subject to heat, and their subsequent disruption as buildings collapse. This can result in dislodgement of teeth from sockets, loss of tooth crowns from roots, disruption of anatomical location of teeth and damage to bony features. Commingling of human remains also is often a feature, as is commingling of animal remains with human. Two cases which illustrate these features are described. A strategy for improving familiarity with comparative dental anatomy and improving skills in dental anatomy is suggested.
The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was t... more The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was the public place where official announcements were made, public meetings were held and some legal processes were demonstrated. Hence the term has come to refer to those aspects of medicine and dentistry which are applied to the needs of the law. In cases of unexpected death, the crucial function of forensic sciences is determining the who, when, where and how of death. Forensic evidence can facilitate the prosecution of people responsible for criminal or grossly negligent acts, and can inform improvements in medical treatments, personal protective equipment, occupational health and safety procedures and many other aspects of the human environment. In South East Asia, victims of accidents/incidents have often been identified visually, even in the case of disfigurement after high-speed accidents or fires. These visual identification procedures were not carried out to internation
In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Vi... more In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Victoria, Australia, forensic odontology played a significant role in the identification process. Particular features of this disaster were challenging to the odontologists. A characteristic of house fires is the extended time period during which the remains may be subject to heat, and their subsequent disruption as
The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was t... more The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was the public place where official announcements were made, public meetings were held and some legal processes were demonstrated. Hence the term has come to refer to those aspects of medicine and dentistry which are applied to the needs of the law. In cases of unexpected death, the crucial function of forensic sciences is determining the who, when, where and how of death. Forensic evidence can facilitate the prosecution of people responsible for criminal or grossly negligent acts, and can inform improvements in medical treatments, personal protective equipment, occupational health and safety procedures and many other aspects of the human environment. In South East Asia, victims of accidents/incidents have often been identified visually, even in the case of disfigurement after high-speed accidents or fires. These visual identification procedures were not carried out to internation
Forensic odontologists are involved in all phases of disaster victim identification (DVI). The fa... more Forensic odontologists are involved in all phases of disaster victim identification (DVI). The failure of DVI management to embed odontology teams within all phases of the investigation and to include them in management decisions throughout the operation may lead to delays in the reconciliation process and could possibly compromise the integrity of the DVI investigation. In the case study presented, trained and experienced teams of forensic odontologists were not utilised to full capacity in all phases of the investigation. The complexity of the initial scene investigation was not identified resulting in the incomplete recovery of all remains. The scene had to be re-examined on three subsequent occasions. The post-mortem examination of the remains had to be deferred until all subsequent material had been collected. The collection of all ante-mortem dental records was not undertaken, resulting in transcription information that was incomplete and compromised. As a result, the reconciliation (formal identification) of the deceased became problematic because of the compounded errors in all phases of this DVI investigation and the resulting odontological report of identification could have jeopardized the integrity of the entire DVI process. Following a review of this case and the recognition of possible areas of omission in the management of the investigation a strategy to address these problems is proposed.
The success of the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) process relies upon sufficient post-morte... more The success of the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) process relies upon sufficient post-mortem data being recovered to allow for a meaningful comparison with ante-mortem records of the missing person. Human bodies subjected to prolonged high temperatures, as experienced during the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, are often reduced to fragile skeletal elements. The dental structures, however, are the most durable tissues of the body and often survive these prolonged high temperatures. Without protecting the fragile remains at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary, disruption of the skeletal and dental elements may occur. This disruption will result in difficulties in obtaining post-mortem evidence and lead to problems during the reconciliation (formal identification) phase of the investigation. In the two case reports presented to illustrate these problems, there was significant loss and degradation of dental structures at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary. In the first case described, where no protection was afforded to the remains, total loss of all anatomical dental structures occurred. In the second case, where protection of the structures was undertaken, vital dental evidence was preserved. As a result of the experience in this particular DVI incident, where remains were exposed to prolonged high temperature and physical damage, new protocols have been formulated. Adherence to these protocols will maximise the recovery and preservation of dental evidence at the scene and during transportation to the mortuary.
The legal matrix under which forensic odontologists practice in Australia is governed by the civi... more The legal matrix under which forensic odontologists practice in Australia is governed by the civil and criminal framework that affects all Australian citizens and therefore healthcare providers including dentists.
In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Vi... more In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Victoria, Australia, forensic odontology played a significant role in the identification process. Particular features of this disaster were challenging to the odontologists. A characteristic of house fires is the extended time period during which the remains may be subject to heat, and their subsequent disruption as buildings collapse. This can result in dislodgement of teeth from sockets, loss of tooth crowns from roots, disruption of anatomical location of teeth and damage to bony features. Commingling of human remains also is often a feature, as is commingling of animal remains with human. Two cases which illustrate these features are described. A strategy for improving familiarity with comparative dental anatomy and improving skills in dental anatomy is suggested.
The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was t... more The word “forensic” comes from the Latin forensis, “of the forum”. In Roman times the forum was the public place where official announcements were made, public meetings were held and some legal processes were demonstrated. Hence the term has come to refer to those aspects of medicine and dentistry which are applied to the needs of the law. In cases of unexpected death, the crucial function of forensic sciences is determining the who, when, where and how of death. Forensic evidence can facilitate the prosecution of people responsible for criminal or grossly negligent acts, and can inform improvements in medical treatments, personal protective equipment, occupational health and safety procedures and many other aspects of the human environment. In South East Asia, victims of accidents/incidents have often been identified visually, even in the case of disfigurement after high-speed accidents or fires. These visual identification procedures were not carried out to internation
In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Vi... more In the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) response to the recent bushfire disasters in rural Victoria, Australia, forensic odontology played a significant role in the identification process. Particular features of this disaster were challenging to the odontologists. A characteristic of house fires is the extended time period during which the remains may be subject to heat, and their subsequent disruption as
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