Review Article

Year : 2020 | Volume : 5 | Issue : 1 | Page :38 - 42

Human Identification and Human Rights through Humanitarian Forensic Odontology

Emilio Nuzzolese, Francesco Lupariello, Pietrantonio Ricci1

From the Department of Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Turin, Turin, 1 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy

Address for correspondence:

Prof. Emilio Nuzzolese, E‐mail: emilio.nuzzolese@unito.it

Abstract

The ethical relationship between human identification and dead bodies lies in the question of whether the dead, like living individuals, have human rights. Only a name and an identity will allow their religious beliefs to be respected and allow the next of kin to complete the grieving process. Experts in forensic odontology and disaster‐victim identification have intimate material contact with bones, teeth, jaws, and other tissue of the deceased, but their work can also lead to the best practice in human identification from humanitarian forensic odontology (HFO) perspective. HFO is the application of pro bono services and consultations in that forensic casework where dental evidence is involved and forensic odontology could be pivotal in criminal investigations, especially in the field of human identification. For this reason, the inclusion of forensic odontology in the human identification process must be methodological, becoming a proper specialization of dentistry and forensic sciences. The dead have the right to have a name and an identity. In the authors’ opinion, the failure to perform a dental autopsy for the purpose of human identification of unidentified human remains can be considered a violation of the human rights of the dead.

Key Words: Forensic odontology, human identification, human rights, humanitarian forensic odontology, humanitarian forensics

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

How to cite this article:

Nuzzolese E, Lupariello F, Ricci P. Human identification and human rights through humanitarian forensic odontology. Int J Forensic Odontol 2020;5:38-42.