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21 September 2006
Forensic dentistry in spotlight at annual dental convention
Dental records, fingerprints and DNA are the three ways of identifying dead bodies, with dental records being used to identify about 60 percent of the 2004 tsunami victims in Thailand by international and Australian teams that included Australian forensic dentist Dr Alex Forrest.
Dr Forrest will reflect on that experience in his Forensic Dentistry in Action: the Southern Asian Tsunami address to the Dentistry Under the Sun convention being held at the Hyatt Regency Coolum next week from 28 September – 1 October.
As a researcher at Griffith University’s Forensic Science Research and Innovation Centre and forensic dentist at Queensland Health’s John Tonge Centre, Dr Forrest will brief colleagues on the 10 weeks he spent in Thailand working on the massive task of identifying 1800 of the 3000 victims from a computer data base of dental records.
“It’s important that dentists have an understanding of what they can do in their surgeries to create invaluable records that could help with patient identification if they are ever needed in future,” Dr Forrest said.
Some other key topics at Dentistry Under the Sun – which is the annual flagship convention organised by the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch – are Cracking the code in the management of cracked teeth, Bread and butter prosthodontics and Volunteer dentistry.
ADAQ president Dr Robert McCray said the presentation by past president Dr Michael Foley, Fluoride – how to convert the undecided, would be particularly relevant as the consequences of Queensland’s ongoing failure to fluoridate continues to stretch the public health sector.
Dr McCray said Queenslanders were known to have the worst teeth in the nation, and it is reprehensible that each year 2000 Queensland children aged under six have tooth decay so severe they require a general anaesthetic (with its associated risks) to have their teeth repaired or removed.
“The ADAQ is campaigning for fluoridated water to be available in Queensland cities in an effort to help overcome ongoing economic and personal oral health disadvantage that has stemmed from the state’s long-term failure to provide fluoridated water for most residents,” Dr McCray said.
“Two reputable surveys in 2004 and 2005 have shown that more than two-thirds of Queenslanders favour water fluoridation but there are some that are undecided or uncertain about water fluoridation in the face of an aggressive electronic campaign by anti-fluoridationists.”
“Recently we saw how a non-scientific and emotional scare campaign derailed Toowoomba’s recycled water proposal and this has incredible similarities to the anti-fluoridation propaganda and misinformation which surfaces whenever Queensland talks about water fluoridation.”
“The parallels between these two campaigns are remarkable. On the one hand there is strong science and worldwide use with no adverse health affects, and on the other there are personal and ideological objections, as well as extreme hyperbole, which hold sway,” Dr McCray said.
Fluoridated water has been available for decades to 15 million Australians and 400 million citizens worldwide.
All of the information included on this web site is accurate to the best of knowledge of the Australian Dental Association (Queensland Branch). To make the text more readable for non-scientists, ADAQ has deliberately minimised attributions and links to supporting files or scientific attachments. However these sources are readily available if required and many can be found via www.health.qld.gov.au/fluoride. |
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Give Queenslanders something to smile about