SUMMARY

Mass disasters can result in a considerable number of carbonised victims. In many cases, fire exposure destroys soft tissue leaving only degraded and brittle skeletal remains. Aircraft accidents are one of the most striking examples where human identification through dental analysis could be the only remaining last resort. In fact teeth, the most resistant organs of the human body, are also the best protected by all the soft and hard surrounding tissues, even when damaged by fire. This article shows that specific dental identification protocols have to be used depending on the degree of carbonisation. Statistical evaluations demonstrate and confirm that dental identification has an important role in the identification of carbonised victims when DNA testing is not possible. A systematic integration of medico-legal odontologists into identification teams seems to be a necessity. It also meets the recommendations made in the mass disaster victims identification guide of Interpol.

Keywords: Carbonization, Tooth, Identification.