Identifying missing people: the contribution of forensic dentistry and DNA

Abstract Introduction Human identification is considered one of the major steps concerning missing people. The Forensic Anthropology Sector of Legal Medical Institutes identifies corpses. Forensic dentistry and DNA tests stand out among the existing standard tests. Objective This article aimed to evaluate human identification effectiveness through forensic dental examination performed in the forensic anthropology sector in a Forensic Medical Institute, comparing them with DNA analyses. Methodology This is a cross-sectional study using secondary data available in the department´s database, from 2008 to 2014, concerning identification procedures using forensic dentistry and DNA techniques. Result The analysis of the examinations eligible to this study (241) showed that DNA analysis was the method used for identification in 79.3% of the cases and forensic dental examinations were used in 20.7% of the cases. As for the type of biological material used during these examinations, unidentified corpses corresponded to 131 cases (53.9%), skeleton structures corresponded to 109 cases (44.9%) and there were 3 cases of body segments (1.2%). When analyzing the time spent to complete the tests, dental examinations were faster than DNA tests. The time spent for forensic dental examination does not depend on the type of dental documentation evaluated. Conclusion The analysis of the results in this study showed that human identification through forensic dentistry is effective, rapid and less costly, contributing to greater agility in solving issues related to locating missing people.

摘要与引言
人类身份识别是涉及失踪人员的核心工作环节之一。法医学研究所（Legal Medical Institutes）的法医人类学部门（Forensic Anthropology Sector）负责尸体身份识别，在现有标准检测手段中，法医牙科（Forensic dentistry）检测与DNA检测为主流方法。
研究目的
本文旨在评估某法医学研究所法医人类学部门开展的法医牙科检测的身份识别效能，并将其与DNA分析（DNA analyses）进行对比。
研究方法
本研究为横断面研究（cross-sectional study），采用某部门2008年至2014年的二级数据库（secondary data）数据，涵盖使用法医牙科技术与DNA技术开展的身份鉴定流程。
研究结果
对符合本研究纳入标准的241例检测样本分析显示，79.3%的案件采用DNA分析完成身份识别，20.7%的案件采用法医牙科检测。关于检测所用生物材料（biological material）类型：身份不明尸体共131例（占53.9%），骨骼遗骸109例（占44.9%），另有3例为肢体断块（占1.2%）。在检测耗时方面，法医牙科检测快于DNA检测，且其耗时不受所评估的牙科文档类型影响。
研究结论
本研究结果分析表明，通过法医牙科检测开展人类身份识别，具备高效、快速且成本更低的优势，可为解决失踪人员查找相关问题提供更高的处置效率。