Toothprints is a horseshoe-shaped thermoplastic bite impression wafer that dental professionals can use to capture unique dental characteristics as well as DNA and saliva. A child or adult simply bites into the softened wafer to record individual tooth characteristics, tooth position with the arch, and the upper to lower jaw relationship–all important information for identification. Like fingerprints, dental imprints are unique to every person so bite impressions serve as an accurate method of identification. Saliva is a powerful source of human scent, thus making Toothprints effective for scent-dog tracking. An initial Toothrpints is recommended at age 3, and should be updated at least twice during childhood–usually at ages 7-8 and again at 12-13. Parents keep the Toothprints record themselves for confidentiality and quick access. One of the greatest fears of parents today is that their child will get lost, or worse, be abducted. Indicative of this concern is the fact that President Bush just signed into law the PROTECT Act that, among other things, creates a national network of AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system. The U.S. Department of Justice issued statistics in late 2002 reporting that nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each year; 58,000 of which are abducted by non-family members. Dental restorations and X-rays have historically been the primary basis for dental identification, but the successful fight against tooth decay has left many children with no cavities and, thus, limited dental records. According to Dr. David Harte, State Director of the Massachusetts Masonic Child Identification Program, “Law enforcement officials rarely have ID materials available for teenagers, yet teens are the most likely to become lost, missing or abducted. Toothprints offers a very powerful recovery and identification component of any child’s identification kit.” To date the Massachusetts program has used Toothprints to imprint 160,000 children in that state.
For more information about the program contact: Kerr Corp. (800) 537-7123, or your personal Kerr representative, your dental dealer, or Toothprint Manager @ volpea@sybrondental.com.