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FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY - An Overview

FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY - An Overview. “That branch of dentistry which ,in the interest of justice ,deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence and with the proper evaluation and presentation of dental findings “.

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FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY - An Overview

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  1. FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY- An Overview

  2. “That branch of dentistry which ,in the interest of justice ,deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence and with the proper evaluation and presentation of dental findings “

  3. Forensic dentistry plays a major role in identification, in man made or natural disaster –events that result in multiple fatalities that may not be identifiable through conventional methods such as finger prints. Identifying unknown human remains through dental records and assisting at location of mass disaster Eliciting the ethnicity and assisting in building up a picture of lifestyle and diet of skeletal remains at archeological sites Determining the gender of an unidentified individual Age estimation of both the living and deceased Recognition and analysis of bite marks found on victims of attack and other substances such as food stuff Presenting evidence in court as an expert witness

  4. BASIS FOR DENTAL IDENTIFICATION • Human dentition is never same in any two individuals • The ,morphlogy and arrangement of teeth vary from person to person • Teeth are relatively resistant to environmental insults after death. • Moreover most material used by dentist for restoring teeth are also resistant to post mortem destruction Traditional methods - Visually recognisingbody, Personal property such as clothing ,jewelleryetc Visually identifying that is burnt or decomposed can be a very traumatic experience for relatives and friends ,the better option identification is forensic expert to analyse physical features present in the body • Therefore the use of dental evidence is the method of choice in establishing the identity of badly burnt ,traumatised,decomposed and skeletonised remains.

  5. IDENTIFICATION FROM DENTAL DNA • Teeth are excellent source of DNA since it can resist extreme condition • PCR allows amplification of even highly degraded DNA • PULPAL TISSUE BEST SOURCE OF DENTAL DNA Types of DNA • Two types of DNA 1)genomic or nuclear DNA 2)mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) • Each Cell has a high copy of mtdna ,also exclusively inherited from mother; no contribution from father • Thus identical mtdna is observed in siblings, their mother and many maternal relatives.

  6. The Palatal Rugae in identification Rugaepatterns like teeth are considered unique to an individual The location of palatal rugae is such that it is usually preserved even in cases of severe trauma. Various pattern and types of rugae have been identified. Rugae patterns on the decedent’s maxilla or maxillary dentures may be compared to old dentures that may be reovered from the decedent’s residence,or plaster model from dental office

  7. Dental Profiling • This is used when ante-mortem records are not available. • Includes a triad of informationethnic origin , gender , age • Information from this process will enable a more focussed search for ante-mortem records. • Dental features have complex mode of inheritence and are combination of heridity and environmental factors to which person is exposed so different population show considerable variation in Dental features. • Dental features in population divided in to 1) Metric(tooth size) 2) Non metric(tooth shape) - more heritable & dependable

  8. Dental Age Estimation Age estimation in prenatal, neonatal and early post natal child - by use of histologic technique; by radiographs; neonatal line indicates a live birth; by dry weight of mineralized tooth (at six month IU- 60mg, newborn-0.5g, six month post natal-1.8g). Age estimation in children and adolescents - two events may be usederuption and tooth calcification Age estimation in adults – most difficult, various methods [Gustafson’s method]

  9. CRIME INVESTIGATION BITE MARKS: • A mark caused by teeth either alone or in combination with other mouth parts (Mac Donald). • May be caused by humans or animals; may be on tissue, food items or other objects. LIP PRINTS • Examination of lip print-cheloscopy • Grooves are heritable and suppose to be individualistic so material evidence left at a crime scene similar to finger prints

  10. DENTIST AS AN EXPERT WITNESS Expert witness are those whose training, qualification or experience enables them to give an opinion on relevant matter where the ordinary person is not so enabled.

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