Tooth imprint kit can help identify children

Utah dentists are joining their colleagues nationwide to offer young patients a service they hope will never be needed: special kits to provide tooth impressions, DNA samples and other identifiers to be used should children be abducted or lost.

Area dentists who belong to a national organization of dentists called the Crown Council are beginning to receive the "Toothprint" kits.

The centerpiece of the kit is a mouth-shaped thermoplastic wafer the dentist warms up and has the child bite, creating a permanent impression of the individual characteristics of the child's teeth. It also soaks up saliva, creating a DNA sample, said Chris Hammon, a participating dentist from Provo.

Sealed in a zipped bag as soon as it's made, the bite splint could even provide scent for a search dog to follow.

It is sent home along with a current photo of the child and a hair sample in a plastic, portable container parents can put in a safe place in case they need it.

In a perfect world, parents would have the kit updated every year, Hammond said. At the very least, Toothprint bite impressions should be done at tooth-change milestones. So advocates of the child-identifying system are recommending a Toothprint at age 3, when all the primary teeth are in; again at 7, when the first permanent molars have come in; and at age 12, when all permanent teeth have erupted.

The Toothprint was developed by a pediatric dentist in Massachusetts, Dave Tesini, as a cheap, easy way to help parents identify their children should it be needed. It's produced by Kerr Dental.

Because of improvements in dental care, fewer children have much dental work done. But children do have their own unique tooth patterns. That, combined with the DNA sample and other information, is a powerful tool to identify children.

Crown Council member dentists are offering the service at no cost to their patients at the time of other dental work. Hammond, for instance, participates in the Smile for Life program, offering tooth whitening services at a discount during the four-months-a-year campaign, the entire proceeds donated to benefit health care for children. Anyone having that tooth whitening done can also have their children's Toothprints done at the same time at no cost.

The Toothprint cost is otherwise about $25 from dentists who do it. A list of participating Crown Council dentists in the area will be available online at www.crowndental.com .

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