MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Jamaica Dental Association (JDA) says it is making every effort to contact the orthodontist who reportedly wants $1.8 million in exchange for his forensic dental analysis of slain Trinidadian school teacher Michelle Coudray-Greaves.

“On the face of it, that amount seems very high and could put dentistry in a bad light, so we are trying to reach out to him to ascertain why is it he is charging that amount,” JDA president Dr Jeffrey Meeks told the Jamaica Observer last night.

The refusal of the orthodontist to submit the analysis to the court on April 30 had resulted in the postponement of the case involving 46-year-old Ivan Taylor, who is charged with the murder of Coudray-Greaves.

At that time, the resident magistrate urged the investigating officer to seek the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on how to proceed with the outstanding evidence. The matter was subsequently set for mention on June 4.

In a release yesterday, Dr Meeks argued that the fee charged by the dental practitioner for the service rendered by the orthodontist is not common among the membership of the JDA.

He noted that the identification of skeletal remains by analysis of dental records is a process many of its members have been called upon to do in the past.

“It is certainly not one of the more pleasant aspects of our practice but it is one that often brings great relief to families of those involved. While some fee in exchange for the work done by a practitioner would not be extraordinary, our investigations have revealed that in the vast majority, if not in all, of such cases in the past, our members have carried out such analyses gratis,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the JDA says the forensic dental analysis was not requested from any of the recognised orthodontists in Jamaica.

The burnt remains of Coudray-Greaves was found in a canefield in Montego Bay last June after she went missing for almost two weeks.

Taylor, a taxi driver, is represented by attorney Stacy-Ann Young.