Lubbock Medical Examiner Explains Dental Identification
By: Michaela MacDonald
Updated: March 21, 2013
Lubbock County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sridhar Natarajan says identifying remains like the kind found near Snyder is like piecing together a puzzle---a process that requires using every tool at your disposal, including dental records.
"If there are dental records that are available to you, then I would say in general terms, and you have good ability to analyze the remains for dental features that it should take place pretty rapidly," said Natarajan.
Natarajan says using dental records is one of the most efficient ways to identify human remains.
"We have equipment that is set up to take a full set of dental x-rays in digital images and then those images can be compared, again with the idea that there is something available to compare them too," said Natarajan.
While Natarajan isn't involved with identifying the skeleton found by Lake JB Thomas near Snyder, he says he's not surprised collecting the bones took so long.
"You should expect to have a large search required to try to obtain the majority of the bones, that's not unusual at all," he said.
He says while dental identification is quick and accurate, it can't be used in all cases.
"Even if you have the ability to do dental records, as I said there are some specific things that you need to have in order to come forward and say okay certainty that I'm telling you its this individual," said Natarajan.
Natarajan says many factors can rule out the use of this dental technology including the quality of pre-death dental records and the condition of the body.
"You are looking at with regard to how intact the jaw is how well the teeth are preserved, how well the jaw itself is preserved the bone structure," he said.
Natarajan says whenever his office is involved in identification it is a team effort. They have consultants including forensic dentists, radiologists and even anthropologists on their staff.
The FBI says the identification could take weeks, or even months.
"If there are dental records that are available to you, then I would say in general terms, and you have good ability to analyze the remains for dental features that it should take place pretty rapidly," said Natarajan.
Natarajan says using dental records is one of the most efficient ways to identify human remains.
"We have equipment that is set up to take a full set of dental x-rays in digital images and then those images can be compared, again with the idea that there is something available to compare them too," said Natarajan.
While Natarajan isn't involved with identifying the skeleton found by Lake JB Thomas near Snyder, he says he's not surprised collecting the bones took so long.
"You should expect to have a large search required to try to obtain the majority of the bones, that's not unusual at all," he said.
He says while dental identification is quick and accurate, it can't be used in all cases.
"Even if you have the ability to do dental records, as I said there are some specific things that you need to have in order to come forward and say okay certainty that I'm telling you its this individual," said Natarajan.
Natarajan says many factors can rule out the use of this dental technology including the quality of pre-death dental records and the condition of the body.
"You are looking at with regard to how intact the jaw is how well the teeth are preserved, how well the jaw itself is preserved the bone structure," he said.
Natarajan says whenever his office is involved in identification it is a team effort. They have consultants including forensic dentists, radiologists and even anthropologists on their staff.
The FBI says the identification could take weeks, or even months.
