Can Dentistry Solve Crimes?

Forensic odontology or forensic dentistry is the branch of dentistry which utilizes dental principles in legal matters. The definition of Forensic Odontology is “It is a subject concerned with the application of medical and paramedical science knowledge to certain branches of law, both civil and criminal.” Actually, forensic dentistry is used for many purposes, including:

1. Identification of individuals; as in knowing the identity of victims in mass disasters
2. Analysis of bite marks left in crime scenes
3. Proving most dental malpractices
4. Age Assessment

Historically, forensic dentistry was used in 66 A.D. to identify the body of Lollia Paulina, as well as causality ID in Revolutionary War, and in identification of victims of big Opera House fire in the year of 1849.

There are neither special requirements nor a special training to practice forensic odontology; however, most who practice this science are dentists. Really, to be a forensic dentist you must have a good idea about normal dentition of teeth (composition, number, types, orientation, and size of different teeth as well as root structure), various types of dental restorations (crowns, bridges, dentures, root canal treatments and extractions), and of course to be familiar with individuality of teeth from person to person.

For identification of individuals, there is a simple universal system used to identify each tooth in a numeric system, i.e. each tooth has a specific number. Definitely, each tooth will be marked with any fillings, fractures, extractions, orientations….and so on. Milk teeth are classified with upper case letters.

Also, age of individuals can be determined based on the knoweldege of developmental stages of human dentitions. The following diagram shows the different stages of development of human dentiton from age of six months to age of twenty one years.( Note:primary teeth are the stippled ones).

But how can forensic dentistry help in catching criminals?

This can be achieved by bite mark analysis which can link the prime suspect to crime scene. Teeth impressions might be detected on foods, skin of victim or other objects related to place of the crime.

Each group of teeth can produce variable impressions; casts are made from impressions which are traced onto transparencies. Then impressions of suspects’ teeth are taken and a comparison between bite marks taken from crime scene and casts of suspects are made.

A bite mark is a patterned injury produced by teeth on animate or inanimate objects caused by small defects on the incisal edge of incisor teeth creating individual marks during biting procedures.

Since 1997, dental task force (DTF) is working as a division of The Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) of the FBI to help in solving a lot of cases in collaboration with other forensic biometrics like fingerprints and DNA.

The most famous case solved by bite mark analysis is Ted Bundy case.

In mass disaster identification, dental records were used to identify twenty percent of 973 victims of 9/11, and ninety percent of victims of Asian Tsunami.

I am sure Mr. Sherlock Holmes would have liked this dental branch so much, wouldn’t he?

Read more: http://www.sanedentist.com/can-dentistry-solve-crimes.html#ixzz1cH1QkCm1