Kimberley Daly, RDH, BASDH, never had any doubts about what her focus in the Dental Hygiene Capstone course would be: forensic odontology. For as long as she can remember, this has been a fascinating (if potentially gruesome!) interest in her life. As part of the Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene degree completion program at St. Petersburg College, Kimberley was able to explore the unique field of forensic odontology in her outstanding capstone practicum experience. Alongside her mentor, a forensic odontologist, she was privileged to participate in two separate autopsies. In both cases, Kimberley was able to use her dental hygiene skills and assist the forensic team by taking post mortem dental radiographs as well as charting remaining teeth and identifying dental restorations.

Kimberley decided to share her story and showcase the role that dental hygienists can play in helping to identify remains and thereby helping families of the deceased find closure. She wrote an article on her capstone project and it was recently published in the RDH Magazine. Read all about her exciting dental CSI adventure here: http://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-35/issue-8/features/dental-csi.html