Follow TV Tropes

Following

History UsefulNotes / IdentificationByDentalRecords

Go To

OR

Changed: 39

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland. And even if the body is found near where the victim lived, [[VideoGame/EternalDarkness it still needs to have a head]].

to:

In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly.have no immediate family to ask. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland. And even if the body is found near where the victim lived, [[VideoGame/EternalDarkness it still needs to have a head]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland. And even if the body is found near where the victim lived, [[EternalDarkness it still needs to have a head]].

to:

In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland. And even if the body is found near where the victim lived, [[EternalDarkness [[VideoGame/EternalDarkness it still needs to have a head]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.

to:

In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.[[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.
Newfoundland. And even if the body is found near where the victim lived, [[EternalDarkness it still needs to have a head]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Hottip cleanup


In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[hottip:*:The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.

to:

In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[hottip:*:The [[note]]The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.]] [[/note]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[hottip:*:The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.

to:

In practice it is not always easy to find out who a deceased person's dentist was if they were single or elderly. Then you have the people who wear dentures -- most denturists do not keep records even for seven years, and the poor can wear the same dentures for twenty years or longer. Worst of all is when the body is not found anywhere near where the victim lived; this was a near-insurmountable roadblock to identification before the development of DNA databases such as CODIS [[hottip:*:The Combined DNA Index System, a big national database of various people's DNA profiles, used by American forensic investigators.]] Even with these resources, identification can still be a problem today if the body crosses a national boundary -- say, if it is dumped into the water in upstate New York and washes up on the coast of Newfoundland.Newfoundland.

Nevertheless, dental records are important identification tools, and not just for the deceased. There are hundreds of amnesiacs living in mental health facilities in the US and Canada (mainly dementia patients and head injury victims) whose identities are unknown. When these people are identified it's usually through dental records.

Top