44 Forensic dentistry
certificates tend to be fairly similar, as most are based on the U.S. Standard
Certificate of Death, which is in turn based on World Health Organization
recommendations. A typical state death certificate is shown in Table 4.2.
Many states are also moving toward a standardized digital death registration
process that promises to make gathering of demographic and epidemiologic
data much simpler and more effective.
The reasons for death certification and investigation are several. First,
as has been noted above, a developed society has an interest in documenting
Table 4.2 State of Texas, Certificate of Death