title: An evaluation of DNA yield, DNA quality and bite registration from a dental impression wafer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The authors determined the amount and quality of the DNA captured by a bite impression wafer and analyzed any inaccuracies in the impression wafer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors made bite registrations for subjects aged 7 to 12 years by using a dental impression wafer (Toothprints, Kerr, Orange, Calif.), obtained an oral rinse sample, took cheek cells by using buccal swabs and made an alginate impression to pour a stone model. They extracted and quantified the DNA from the dental impression wafer, mouthwash and buccal swabs by using the Quant-iT PicoGreen (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.) assay and a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. They compared the stone models and imprints from the wafer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average amounts of DNA determined by using Quant-iT PicoGreen from the buccal swab, mouthwash and dental impression wafer samples were 113.61, 509.57 and 1.03 micrograms, respectively. The average amounts of DNA determined by using RT-PCR from the buccal swab, mouthwash and dental impression wafer samples were 11.5240, 22.2540 and 0.0279 mug, respectively. The bite registrations and stone models had an average of 14 percent of mismatches.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dental impression wafers captured DNA but not in high quantities. They did not produce an accurate representation of the dentition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dental impression wafers captured enough DNA to permit amplification. The accuracy of the bite registration was not sufficient for identification purposes. Therefore, dental impression wafers may be useful only as a reservoir for DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Indiana University School of Dentistry, 1121 W. Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Fengyu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Edwin T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.forename: George J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: L Jack
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Windsor
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates; D001734:Bites, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003760:Dental Impression Materials; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D018732:Forensic Anthropology / Q000379:methods; D005553:Forensic Dentistry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007574:Jaw Relation Record; D008297:Male; D003765:Models, Dental; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013048:Specimen Handling