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Volume 5 Issue 2 (February, 2017)

Review Articles

FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY: IS INDIA DISASTER READY???

Rahat Thukral, Komal Gurpreet Singh Ragi

Millions of people lose their life in wake of natural disasters and their identification is an essential component of ensuring closure to surviving family. Approximately 250,000 people lost their lives; including nationals from over 35 countries in the Asian Tsunami of Boxing day, 2004. The use of dentition is considered integral to process of identification and is a standard procedure around the world as it is highly efficient & reliable. In Thailand, dental comparison has been the primary identifier in 79% cases and as a secondary contributor in another 8%, a total of 87% of tsunami victims. While in India, physical evidences and personal property still remain the primary mode of identification, due to lack of forensic records (as seen in Air India Express flight 812 crash; Mangalore, 2010). In this review an effort has been made to compare the role of forensic odontology post a mass disaster for victim identification in India and Western countries; by evaluating literature regarding certain mass disasters.
Key words: Forensic odontology, India, Dental professionals.

 
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