Ante-Mortem (AM) Record
Definition
Any dental documentation from the person's life: radiographs, clinical charts, study models, photographs, and prosthetic records. These form the known standard against which postmortem findings are compared.
- Includes
- Dental records, radiographs, photographs, clinical notes
- Source
- Victim's own dentist or medical history
- Function
- Reference set for post-mortem comparison
- Field
- Dental identification in mass disasters
Common questions
Why are dental radiographs especially valuable as an ante-mortem record?+
Radiographs capture restorations, root morphology and bone patterns that survive fire, decomposition and skeletonisation far better than soft tissue or even visible dental surfaces, making them one of the most durable comparison points available.
What happens when no ante-mortem dental record can be located for a victim?+
Identification then has to rely on other modalities such as DNA, fingerprints or unique medical implants, since dental comparison is only possible when a matching record exists to compare the remains against.
Related terms
- Calcification Temperature Threshold
- The temperature at which dental enamel begins to structurally degrade. Enamel sustains fires up to approximately 200°C with minimal change; above 600-800°C...
- Concordant Feature
- A characteristic that matches between the AM and PM records. Concordances build the case for identification; the more unique and numerous they...
- Discordant Feature
- A characteristic that differs between AM and PM findings. A discordance must either be explained (e.g., new dental work since the last...
- DVI (Disaster Victim Identification)
- The systematic multi-agency process for identifying victims of mass-casualty events, governed by the INTERPOL DVI Guide 2018 revision. Organises work into five...
- Exclusion
- The categorical conclusion that one or more examined features are clearly inconsistent in a way that cannot be explained by projection angle,...
- Positive Identification
- The categorical conclusion in comparative radiography that all examined features are concordant, no feature is inconsistent, and the overall pattern of correspondence...
- Post-Mortem (PM) Examination
- The systematic dental examination conducted on remains after death, producing a chart, radiographs, and photographs that document the current state of the...
- Post-Mortem (PM) Record
- The dental charting, radiographs, and descriptive notes taken from recovered human remains at the mortuary. The data set to be matched to...
- Primary Identification Method
- A method accepted by INTERPOL and most national standards as sufficient on its own to confirm identity: fingerprints, dental comparison, or DNA....
- Reconciliation
- The formal process of comparing an AM record against a PM record to determine whether they represent the same individual. A confirmed...
Explained in these topics
- Dental Identification: Antemortem to Postmortem Comparison
- Dental Identification in Mass Disasters and DVIDental records, radiographs, photographs, and clinical notes compiled from the victim's own dentist or medical history before death. The reference set that pos...