Comparative study of efficiency of dental methods for identification of burn victims in two bus accidents in Spain

This article deals with the usefulness and limitations of dental identification methods of human burn victims of two buses accidents in Spain. The first accident happened in Bailen in 1996 and involved 28 badly burned Spanish victims. In the second, in Illescas in 1997, 8 Japanese and 2 Spanish victims lost their lives. In both accidents, postmortem forensic procedures for identification were used, including external and internal examination, routine photographs, and dental examination. Dental identification was established in 57% of the cases in the Bailen accident and 80% in the Illescas accident. The success rate of dental identification varies considerably depending on the nature of the accident, the nationality and country of residence of the victims, the incidence of dental treatment, the availability of adequate dental records, and the degree of dental injuries. A discussion of procedures and methods for identification recommended when dealing with burn victims is included.