Orthodontic Records Helping to Identify A Victim of Execution

Adriana de Moraes Correia; Phillipe Nogueira Barbosa Alencar; Maria Luiza Sousa Sobrinho; Rhonan Ferreira Silva; Fábio Wildson Gurgel Costa & Tácio Pinheiro Bezerra

Summary

Human identification is the process that identifies an individual as a unique being, differentiating him/her from all others. The participation of Odontology in the processes of identification is fundamental in situations of human remains. This paper aims to report a case of positive identification, through dentistry, in human remains. The forensic odontologist performed a post-morten (PM) examination, which consisted of the collection of post-mortem dental findings in human bones, collection of ante-mortem (AM) dental findings in the patient's orthodontic records, and the comparison between AM and PM information. Dental elements are widely used in the processes of human identification, since they are resistant to time and to physical, chemical and mechanical impacts. Positive identification is guided by the presence of individualizing characteristics, easily detected in dental records. It is concluded that human identification through dentistry is a safe and reliable method, since dental elements have individualizing characteristics that make the process possible.

KEY WORDS: human identification, forensic anthropology, forensic dentistry.

How to cite this article

CORREIA, A. M.; ALENCAR, P. N. B.; SOBRINHO, M. L. S.; SILVA, R. F.; COSTA, F. W. G. & BEZERRA, T. P. Orthodontic records helping to identify a victim of execution. Int. J. Odontostomat., 15(2):403-408, 2021.