If you watch TV or read the news, it’s likely that you’ve heard about identifying people through their dental records.
In cases when a deceased person isn’t visually identifiable, perhaps after a fire or a bad accident, it’s a small team of dedicated specialist dentists who search for dental records and help establish who the person is.
Associate Professor Alex Forrest AO is the Director of Forensic Odontology with Queensland Health, and he and his team work with the police and coroners to provide advice about the identity of these unknown persons.
Like DNA and fingerprints, the shapes and positions of teeth together with evidence of dental treatment have so many variations that they’re commonly a reliable and definitive way to determine identity.
“A case usually begins when we receive a notification from the Coronial Support Police asking us to do a search for dental records and images such as x-rays, CT scans and clinical dental photographs,” Alex explains. “Two of us will get to work on this as soon as possible.
“If you’ve ever been to a dentist, they will have records of any work they did on your teeth and may have x-rays, CT scans or photographs. Recently, they may also have digital models of your teeth on file as well. All of these are useful to compare with the dental features of a deceased person.”
While he was studying dentistry, Alex developed an interest in anatomy and knew it was a field he wanted to know more about. Inevitably, that led him towards forensic odontology, in which he is a registered specialist.
“Knowing we can quickly provide the data to identify someone is very rewarding. It brings relief and closure to a family, and we know that the more rapidly we work, the better the outcome for them.
“I love everything about my job, the fact that we can apply dentistry to not only identification, but interpretation of trauma, a diagnosis of disease and so much more. Every day I’m excited to come to work to be with a great team and know that the work we do each day is going to make a difference.”
One of Alex’s proudest moments was the work he did in Thailand after the Boxing Day Tsunami, where he helped to identify victims of Asia’s worst natural disaster in decades.
“That was something on a scale that we’d never seen before, and it was such an incredible, rewarding experience where we helped to identify victims of the tsunami,” Alex said.
Dr Neil Evans is another member of the five-person Forensic Odontology team.
“We get new cases all the time and searching for those records is something quite a bit different to general dentistry, and that’s why I like it,” Neil said.
“You will be working not only with other dentists and radiology clinics as part of a search for dental records, but also with forensic radiographers whose expert skills help build radiographic profiles of a deceased person for comparison.
“I think it’s something that most people wouldn’t stop to think about at the time, but as an example, when you get a filling then that would be in a specific tooth and be a particular shape. What material is it made from? What tooth is it in? All these things differ to make an individual profile.”
“The more quickly we can find a match, the better.
“Sometimes we will find a match even as fast as within 30 minutes,” Neil said. “Other times we have to try multiple sources and methods to find records. It’s not possible to say no two teeth are the same, but when you look at a set of teeth, there are so many variables.
“It’s nowhere near as exciting as what you see on TV, but the fact is that when the work is done we know that we are part of helping a family to begin their grieving process, move forward with funeral arrangements and wrap up the affairs of a loved family member.
“I used to think CSI was really cool when I was younger, and I guess that’s why I was drawn to this kind of work. Every day is different and working with Alex and the rest of the team to get a result is so rewarding.”