To the editor:
In reference to The Daily News article, "Police dog can track missing by saliva" (April10), I would like to comment on the success of Toothprint programs not only in our state, but also in many other states nationwide.
Toothprints was developed by a pediatric dentist as a way of protecting his own child more than 20 years ago. Its significance cannot be minimized and it immediately received the enthusiastic support of Dr. Stanley Schwartz, a Gloucester native, who was the Massachusetts state forensic dentist and president of the American Board of Forensic Odontology at the time. The Toothprint program has been used by the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State as a part of the Massachusetts KIDS program. And more recently, Toothprints is used in the Masonic CHIP program supported by the Massachusetts Dental Society and the Massachusetts Association of Crime Prevention Officers. To date, over 1,000,000 children have received Toothprints. In fact, programs have been run in New Orleans recently to help in the event of another Katrina-like catastrophe. Programs routinely are run by law enforcement, philanthropic organizations, school systems, summer camps, health fairs and dental offices. It has been supported by police officers, individuals, parents and dentists nationwide ... and I support it for the children and families in my practice.
... there were those who didn't believe in car seats and seatbelts for children
... there were those who didn't believe in bicycle helmets for kids
... there were those that didn't believe in mouthguards for hockey, football or lacrosse
Toothprints are simply one more way of safeguarding our children; not in a sporting event or car accident, but in the event that they become lost or missing.
Scent tracking, scent discriminating, and scent imprinting ... they say a dog is only as good as the scent article. Mason is a great dog and officer Bailey is a great handler. The entire Newburyport Fire Department and state police witnessed Mason in action. Toothprints are a great uncontaminated scent article which also captures DNA from the saliva. In addition, it records the size and shape of the teeth, the position of the teeth within the mouth and the relationship of the upper and lower jaw to each other. Even identical twins that are identical genetically have different Toothprints. There are police dogs close by who are able to track the scent of a Toothprint. Mason is not the only dog who can do this task but Mason is specifically trained to track Toothprints. The more dogs that becomes available in a crisis situation, the better the chances of a positive result. This is why we are raising money to get another scent tracking dog in the community.
As a pediatric dentist, I will continue to provide Toothprints for all my patients. Like fingerprints, like photographs, like Megan's law, like Amber Alert, like infant identifier, I hope they will never be needed. But if it helps just one child and one family, then all the effort will be worthwhile.
DR. LINDI EZEKOWITZ
Newburyport Pediatric Dentistry
