Forensic Odontology Unit, School of Dentistry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
Forensic Sci Int. 2011 Apr 15;207(1-3):50-4. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.08.025. Epub 2010 Sep 28.
Non-visual identification of victims utilizes DNA, fingerprint and dental comparison as primary scientific identifiers. In incidents where a victim has been incinerated, there may be loss of fingerprint detail and denaturing of DNA. Although extremely durable, tooth loss will also occur with extreme temperatures and the characteristics of recovered dental implants, if any, may be the only physical identifying data available. Currently, there are no experimental investigations to determine what changes occur to dental implants following high temperature exposure. A selection of dental implants was radiographed, utilizing purpose built apparatus to allow standard methodology. They were then heated in an INFI-TROL™ kiln to a maximum temperature of 1125°C and the radiographic procedure repeated. Image subtraction evaluation of the radiographs was recorded using Adobe(®) Photoshop(®). Both commercially pure titanium and titanium alloy dental implants survived the incineration and there was oxidation of the surface leading to minor alteration of the image. There was, however, no detectable sagging of the implants. The results of this research suggest that dental implants are still recognizable following incineration. In scenarios commonly seen by forensic odontologists, heat will destroy both teeth and conventional dental restorative materials. Implants, however, will resist these conditions and will also retain the features necessary to identify the type of implant.
非视觉识别方法主要利用 DNA、指纹和牙齿比对来识别受害者。在受害者被火化的情况下，可能会导致指纹细节丢失和 DNA 变性。尽管牙齿非常耐用，但在极端高温下也会脱落，而且如果有任何回收的牙种植体，其特征可能是唯一可用的物理识别数据。目前，还没有实验研究来确定高温暴露后牙种植体发生了哪些变化。选择了一些牙种植体进行放射照相，使用专门设计的设备来允许使用标准方法。然后将它们在 INFI-TROL™炉中加热至 1125°C 的最高温度，并重复放射照相程序。使用 Adobe（R）Photoshop（R）记录对射线照片的图像减法评估。商用纯钛和钛合金牙种植体都在焚烧中幸存下来，表面发生氧化，导致图像发生轻微变化。然而，没有发现种植体明显下垂。这项研究的结果表明，牙种植体在焚烧后仍然可以识别。在法医牙科学中常见的情况下，高温会破坏牙齿和传统的牙科修复材料。然而，种植体会抵抗这些条件，并且还将保留必要的特征来识别种植体的类型。
