Denture Marking: Forensic Odontology Aspects

and Jasdeep Kaur1

(1)

Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and ILEWG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 
Abstract
Dental prostheses labeled with the patient’s name and further unique identifiers such as gender, phone number, address, job, and national identity number may play an important role in the forensic scenario. Marking dentures has been measured as a vital part of forensic dentistry, although no standardized method is followed. This chapter reviews the various methods of labeling dentures and their use in forensic odontology.

12.1 Introduction

Marking of all dentures is recommended by most international dental associations. In some countries and certain states in the United States, the labeling of dentures is regulated by legislation (Borrman et al. 1999). As a component of the responsibility of the dental profession, a dentist needs to maintain careful dental records of his or her patients. This would include documenting the identity of dentures in forensic odontology. It has been reported that marking dentures can be significant in identifying patients with dementia or those who perished in a disaster (Alexander et al. 1998). Also, it becomes easier to identify the person if dentures were uniquely coded or marked. Positive identification of the denture is usually done with a minute, unique identification code that is affixed in the denture base. Dental prostheses labeled with at least the patient’s name and unique identifier markers such as gender, phone number, address, occupation, and national identity number may play an important role in forensic casework (Stenberg and Borrman 1998). The importance of placing identification labeling on dentures has long been recognized by dentists even though no standard method has been developed (Stavrianos et al. 2007). The standard necessities for denture labelings are that they should be biocompatible, inexpensive, easy and quick to apply, possible to recover after an accident, and resistant to acid, extreme temperatures, cleansing, and disinfectants (Borrman et al. 1999). The labeling should be aesthetically acceptable, visible, and durable without compromising the strength of the prosthesis agents. The recommended areas for labeling are therefore the posterior regions of the lingual flange and the palate (Borrman et al. 1999). Various methods of denture labeling have been reported, but there are two main methods in labeling dentures: inclusion systems and surface methods (Stavrianos et al. 2007). Denture labeling systems can generally be divided into inclusion systems or marking systems. Most of them are time-consuming, are aesthetically unpleasant, or use equipment not readily available in most dental laboratories, particularly in developing countries, and if the denture needs relining, the denture label becomes invisible (Richmond and Pretty 2006).
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Oct 18, 2015 | Posted by in General Dentistry | Comments Off on Denture Marking: Forensic Odontology Aspects

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