Toothprints Lead Way in Child Identification

Dental characteristics are unique to each individual. Not even identical twins carry the same dental characteristics. This distinctive trait has led to the creation of a new way to safeguard your children, the Toothprints® dental ID.

Dental records are often a prime source of identification, but with the incidence of tooth decay on the decline, today's children have fewer and fewer cavities, resulting in limited dental records. Parents can now use this valuable innovation to protect their children from being lost or abducted.

The Toothprints dental ID is a horseshoe-shaped soft wafer that can record the unique dental characteristics of each child. The child bites into the wafer to record individual tooth characteristics and tooth position within the arch. The device also collects a saliva sample, an effective tool for scent-dog tracking. Dental professionals recommend the first Toothprint be taken at age 3 with updates at least twice during childhood, generally between ages 7-8 and 12-13. Parents keep the Toothprints themselves for quick access and confidentiality.

According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice in late 2002, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing every year with 58,000 of those being abducted by nonfamily members. This new form of identification comes on the heels of President George W. Bush's signing into law the PROTECT act, which created the nationally recognized AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system.

Dr. David A. Tesini, an associate clinical professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, researched the Toothprints bite impression in July 2003 and concluded the effectiveness of Toothprints. One study had shown that a Toothprint that had been swabbed in the routine manner as for all general forensic samples could produce an obtainable genetic profile nearly three years after it was taken. The sample Toothprint had been immediately placed in a Ziploc bag after it was taken and stored unrefrigerated in a normal home environment.

Tesini also noted the importance of the saliva DNA sample on the wafer. He referenced a test in Las Vegas in 2002 where scent dogs were given a month old, dried wafer. The dogs were still able to locate the individual hiding in a paint closet on the basement floor of an eight-story building, all within 10 minutes.

These bite impressions are acknowledged as a key component in child identification by many groups including law enforcement officials, school boards, dental professionals and missing children organizations. Toothprints only takes a few minutes, and a few minutes are worth a parent's piece of mind, and possibly, a child's life. Contact your local orthodontist or dentist for more details on Toothprints.