Figure 10-11. - Exposed maxilla and mandible.

Equipment

In small operations with minimal number of remains to be processed, equipment is not a major consideration. However, as the number of remains increases, the availability of equipment becomes a major determining factor in the efficiency of the dental Id section. In situations where hundreds of remains require ID, you should have as many X-ray machines available as possible to speed up the initial processing of the remains. Postmortem radiographs are obtained from regular floor-mounted, mobile endodontic, and portable military field types of dental X-ray units.

Exposure of Postmortem Radiographs

The forensic X-ray section must realize that exposure of postmortem dental radiographs is the time limiting step for the dental ID section as a whole. It will normally require approximately 20 minutes to expose a complete series of postmortem radiographs. Therefore, a maximum of 3 sets of remains per hour can be processed with a single X-ray machine. Care Continue Reading