April 13, 2004

By: Savio Lewis
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Forensic Dentistry – OMS Leads Forensic Dentistry Team In Identifying World Trade Center Victims

As the focus of activity amid what remains of New York City’s World Trade Center shifts from rescuing the living to the grim task of recovering the bodies of the dead, officials call on the special skills of Jeffrey Burkes, DDS. A successful Fifth Avenue oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Burkes is also recognized as one of the nation’s foremost experts in forensic dentistry – the science of identifying human remains from dental records.

Dr. Burkes leads a team of forensic dentists for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City. It’s a role he’s assumed before – since 1975 he has identified many bodies, including a victim of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, various plane crashes, murders and suicide jumps from the Empire State Building. But never before anything on this scale: This is combining Mount St. Helens with three or four Oklahoma City bombings, Dr. Burkes says.

Dental records are often the best way to identify individuals who have no finger prints on file or whose bodies have been damaged making other means of identification difficult. Teeth and dental work, including fillings, inlays and dental implants, don’t decay and are much harder to burn than skin and muscle. Also, many individuals who have no fingerprints on file have dental records. Dental records are as reliable as finger prints for identifying remains, and IDs can generally be made more quickly than with DNA tests.

Both paper dental charts and dental x-rays are used in the identification process. Details noted on charts, such as missing teeth, the presence of fillings and other dental work, and what those fillings are made of, are entered into a computer. When a body is found, these easily observable characteristics are used to quickly narrow the range of possible identities. Then two dentists compare x-rays from the records with the teeth in hand to make a positive identification. If the two disagree on an identity, a third, usually Dr. Burkes, makes the final call.

Dozens of dentists have volunteered to help with the identification process. But so horrific were the force of the collision, the heat of the fires and the impact of the collapse that many bodies are damaged beyond even dental identification. And so huge is the volume of rubble that only a small proportion of the missing have yet been found.

Author Notes:

Savio Lewis contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!