NCJ Number
217234
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 157-165
Date Published
January 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This three-part study examined the ability of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to locate and identify the unique resin brands placed in teeth as a means of identifying deceased individuals under conditions of noncremation, cremation, and the processing of cremation remains.
Abstract
This study is significant, because tooth-colored restorative resins are increasingly being used in modern dentistry, and many of the resins have distinctive elemental compositions that allow the identification of brand. The first part of the study found that XRF was successful in locating and identifying the brands of 53 of 70 resin restorations placed in 6 human cadavers. This was sufficient for positive victim identification by comparing resin characteristics with simulated victim dental records. This part of the experiment demonstrated the usefulness of using portable XRF in detecting and analyzing restorative dental restoration materials in victim identification in field or morgue settings. The second and third parts of the experiment determined that XRF was still able to achieve victim identification from tooth restorative resins after cremation and the processing of cremation remains. Under both conditions, sufficient surviving resin material was found to distinguish each individual in the study group. The current study placed unique combinations of resins in 6 human cadavers (70 tooth restorations), and simulated dental records were created. 5 tables, 6 figures, and 31 references