Forensic odontologists successfully identify tsunami victims in Phuket, Thailand

Forensic Sci Int. 2007 Sep 13;171(2-3):204-7. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.08.013. Epub 2006 Oct 9.

Abstract

More than a year has elapsed since the seaquake in South-East Asia in December 2004, and more than 92% of the non-Thai victims have been identified. About 80% of the non-Thai victims were identified by dental information. This high success rate of dental identification in Thailand was a matter of surprise for many forensic experts. Identification based on dental information is a highly efficient, reliable and rapid procedure. The conclusions drawn from the identification of tsunami victims in Thailand were recently discussed at the 17th Meeting of the Standing Committee on Disaster Victim Identification of Interpol in Lyon, and may be used to formulate new guidelines for the identification of victims.

MeSH terms

  • Databases as Topic
  • Dermatoglyphics
  • Disasters*
  • Forensic Dentistry / methods*
  • Forensic Dentistry / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted*
  • Radiography, Dental*
  • Thailand