How dental records will help identify bodies from mh17

The first of the bodies from Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 have arrived in the Netherlands ready for forensic investigation into the remains of the 298 passengers and crew. Identifying the

victims is going to pose many challenges given the potential state of the bodies and remains, both from the initial explosion and the delay in recovery, but dental records can definitely

help. It is not unusual for forensic science to investigate mass disasters and crimes, such as the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks in New York. Neither is it unusual for forensic experts

from different countries and organisations to participate into the one investigation, such as Nairobi’s Westgate mall attack in 2013. But it is unusual when the incident occurs in a conflict

region or area where there is no defined jurisdiction or hardly any legal structure to default to. This applies to the forensic investigation relating to the downing of the Malaysia

Airlines Boeing 777 in eastern Ukraine. There are legitimate questions relating to the jurisdiction – if any – in place, the security of the evidence and the safety of the expected forensic

team of experts. This is especially so when the militant groups who are accused of downing the aircraft and therefore creating the crime site will themselves be guarding the crime scene and

the forensic experts expected to work at the scene! As a proper forensic investigation has been so far deliberately or unintentionally delayed, concerns relating to the accurate

identification of victims’ bodies become more confirmed. As time passes, more crime site contamination is expected to occur along with the decomposition of victims’ bodies. The transfer of

the first 40 bodies to the Netherlands is only now taking place after they were left in fields for several days of hot summer weather. OVERCOMING TIME, TEMPERATURE AND CONTAMINATION Research

in forensic medicine and forensic odontology can offer some reassuring news for families and friends of the victims. Dental identification has always played a key role in natural and

human-made disaster situations especially in identifying victims of fires, and victims of mass disasters and aviation disasters. In cases where a body is charred, conventional autopsies and

DNA profiling become problematic and very limited in certain situations. Bodies in these instances can be disfigured to such an extent that identification by a family member is neither

reliable nor desirable. But the teeth often remain a good source of identification in those situations. Ongoing forensic research in Egypt has been evaluating the changes in the root density

and morphology of the teeth subjected to extremely high temperatures equivalent to that resulting from aircraft’s explosion. Digital dental radiography was used to investigate the

possibility of using these changes to identify bodies exposed to extreme heat. Research results confirmed that measuring the root density on direct digital radiographs and comparing the

antemortem and postmortem values is a reliable tool for identification of bodies exposed at temperatures up to 1,100°C for durations up to 30 minutes. Digital radiography is a preferred

choice in any mass casualty situations where the number of victims overwhelms the ability of forensic examiners to quickly and accurately identify decedents. It’s also useful where other

tools of identification may be restricted, problematic or time-consuming. In the MH17 case, digital dental radiography can be employed for identification purposes as the teeth of the victims

are not as vulnerable to contamination and immediate decomposition as other evidence and parts of the body are. In addition, the creation of electronic teeth-radiographs can be easily

networked and transferred between forensic scientists on site (eastern Ukraine and the Netherlands in this case) and their peer colleagues at laboratories wherever they are, including

Australia, Malaysia and the UK. These advancements in forensic science mean investigators may be able to contain much of the mess already done on the disaster scene. Identifying the victims’

bodies and remains is not only a legal and moral requirement towards human dignity but also an impartial step for the families, friends and colleagues to help grieve their loss. THE

UNACCOMPLISHED MISSION But the mission of forensic science is not only in identifying the victims’ bodies and remains. The major role of forensic science is to assist in achieving justice.

Forensics will play a critical role in crime reconstruction, providing scientific explanations to understand the sequence of events relating to the downing of the Malaysian aeroplane. By

doing so, forensic experts will assist in bringing offenders to trials. Among all the political and military battles, this forensic battle seems very hard to win in a contested area with

hardly any jurisdiction or legal framework in place. Forensic science – first and foremost – is defined as “science pertaining to law”. But in the MH17 case we have to wonder to which law

will forensic science pertain? Will it be to the Russian law, Ukrainian law, the rebels’ rules and orders, international law or that at the Netherlands from where the MH17 departed but never

landed or Malaysian law its intended destination? This is a difficult question in a difficult region where political interest seems to override any other interest. _This article was

co-authored with Dina Shokry, professor of forensic medicine and clinical toxicology at Cairo University and president of the New Mediterranian Academy of Forensic Science._