The dental record as an integrated document to the medical death certificate. Report of an atypical case

Abstract

The medical death certificate (MDC) is a document prepared exclusively by a physician that certifies the death of a person. Its preparation requires definitively establishing the identity of the corpse, which can be difficult in the context of a violent death. Dental examination has proven to be a significant contribution in human identification processes, particularly when physiognomic characteristics are distorted. This article describes the case of a man who suffered burns over a large part of his body as a result of an accidental explosion and died days later. His identity was presumed, although it could not be legally confirmed due to the absence of identification documents. Current legislation in Argentina stipulates that death must be certified through records that make it possible to establish the identity of the deceased. In this report, the post-mortem dental record prepared by the Corrientes Provincial Police experts was attached to the CMD after confirming the victim's identity by comparing it with the recovered ante-mortem dental records, providing credibility and speed to assist justice, representing a technical, scientific, and legal precedent to be taken into account as a forensic alternative.