Table of Contents
Preparing for Disaster – Workshop teaches
forensic dentistry skills
Workshop teaches forensic dentistry skills for identifying victims
Veronique Delattre, D.D.S., left, associate professor in restorative
dentistry, demonstrates techniques involved in comparing victim
dental records for
workshop participants, from left, Diego Torres,
laboratory technician, and SulaUmansky, D.D.S., Dental Branch
alumna.
A hurricane drowns hundreds of people, leaving bloated bodies along the shore.
Two high school girls are found murdered while on their senior trip in the Carribean.
And in each situation a family waits – anxious to confirm whether their loved one is among the missing.
These and other unfortunate situations require a team of professionals who are experienced in dental identification. Identifying the victims of such tragedies releases loved ones from the painful days of not knowing. Identification provides confirmation and closure.
Veronique Delattre, D.D.S., associate professor in restorative dentistry at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, brought together dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienists from across Texas to learn just what it would take to identify 50 victims of a plane crash.
Delattre, who is a diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Odontology and a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, conducted the day-long continuing education course as a new initiative in the UT Health Science Center at Houston’s Academic and Administrative Leadership Development Program.
Course participants were walked through the old identification process – spreading the postmortem records out and walking around with the antemortem records to find a match. This process requires the investigator to tediously match similar characteristics in both the records, such as cavities, fillings, dental morphology (form and structure) and missing teeth.
Mishie Nesbitt, faculty clinic manager
at the UT Dental Branch at
Houston,
reviews postmortem and antemortem
records of a simulated
plane crash victim.
Photos by Erika Durham Hargrove
The class also introduced the new way – WinID, a dental computer system that helps rank potential matches between human remains and known victims. Information about restored dental surfaces, physical descriptors, pathological and anthropologic findings can be entered into the database to help create the match. WinID is the method commonly used by today’s law enforcement agencies.
Preliminary analysis of participants’ pre- and post-tests showed that, “on average, after the simulation they felt more aware of the duties required of an identification team and felt more confident in their ability to carry out those duties during an incident,” Delattre said.“A separate survey of the participants revealed that they felt a positive team spirit and accomplished a great deal while working within set procedures and protocols.”
Mishie Nesbitt, faculty clinical manager at the Dental Branch, who was enrolled in the continuing education course, agrees that she learned a tremendous amount.
A dental health graduate from New York University College of Dentistry, Nesbitt previously worked with the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office as an intern. In this position she worked in a dental assistant capacity, gathering information and supporting the work of a forensic dentist. Nesbitt said she witnessed the identification of victims involved in a variety of tragic incidents, including homicide and suicide.
“As a result of my experience in New York City, forensic dentistry has become more interesting and important to me because it has helped me to identify my reality of how short and precious life is,” she said.
Nesbitt and other participants in Delattre’s course may be called to assist in any circumstance in Harris County that requires identification.
“As the chief forensic dental consultant for the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office, it will be my duty during a mass fatality incident to provide sufficiently trained team members to provide rapid and accurate dental identification information on the victims,” Delattre said. “The participants from this and previous courses will be invited to participate as needed until all identifications are complete.”
The goal of the Academic and Administrative Leadership Development Program is to develop in health science center faculty and administrators the capacity for leadership by imparting new knowledge about the institution, as well as new leadership and management skills.
Delattre’s Dental Branch team members were: Paul Stimson, D.D.S., professor emeritus and diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Odontology; Margo Y. Melchor, clinical assistant professor of periodontics; Elma Gallardo, dental assistant III; Inga- Lill Leon, assistant chief radiologic tech; Maria Munoz; dental assistant II; Jose Pinales, radiologic technologist II; and Graciela Rodriquez, dental student worker.
By Erika Durham Hargrove, Public Affairs