Forensic dentistry or forensic odontology involves the handling, examination, and evaluation of dental evidence in a criminal justice context. Forensic dentistry is used in both criminal and civil law. Forensic dentists assist investigative agencies in identifying human remains, particularly in cases when identifying information is otherwise scarce or nonexistent—for instance, identifying burn victims by consulting the victim's dental records. Forensic dentists may also be asked to assist in determining the age, race, sex, and previous dental history of unidentified human beings. The primary benefit of dental evidence is its perpetual preservation following death. The examination of antemortem and postmortem dental characteristics is made possible by each persons distinctive tooth patterns.
Forensic dentists may make their determinations by using radiographs, ante- and post-mortem photographs, and DNA analysis. Another type of evidence that may be analyzed is bite marks, whether left on the victim (by the attacker), the perpetrator (from the victim of an attack), or on an object found at the crime scene. However, this latter application of forensic dentistry has proven highly controversial, as no scientific studies or evidence substantiate that bite marks can demonstrate sufficient detail for positive identification and numerous instances where experts diverge widely in their evaluations of the same bite mark evidence.
Bite mark analysis has been condemned by several scientific bodies, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
It is important to acknowledge that this discipline as well as any other forensic discipline is very susceptible to bias.
Questions raised by the National Academy of Sciences in its 2009 report on forensic science led several courts to restrict bite-mark testimony.
Training
India In India, certificate courses offered include a modular course by D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, and some other private entities. The Indian Dental Association offers a fellowship program in FO which can be either a classroom program or an online program. Master's degree programs in different forensic disciplines along with M.Sc. Forensic Odontology is offered by National Forensic Sciences University which is the world's only university dedicated to forensic sciences. It is a 2‑year full‑time course offered at the university's campus at Gandhinagar.Gawali RA. Education, training, and practice of forensic odontology: An Indian perspective. J Dent Res Rev [serial online] 2020 [cited 2020 Mar 31];7:3–4. Available from: http://www.jdrr.org/text.asp?2020/7/1/3/281503
Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology: The INPAFO Fellowship/Scholarship is a program offered by the Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology (INPAFO) to support academic and professional development in forensic odontology. There are different types of fellowships, including the INPAFO Fellowship and the INPAFO Post Graduate Research Scholarship (IPGRS), which provide opportunities for research and skill enhancement. Additionally, INPAFO offers an Honorary Fellowship to recognize individuals with outstanding contributions and leadership in the field.more about INPAFO Fellowships-scholarships
Australia Postgraduate diploma programs for dentists are available at The University of Melbourne, The University of Western Australia, and The University of Adelaide.Graduate Diploma in Forensic Odontology. Adelaide.edu.au (2016-12-13). Retrieved on 2016-12-19.
Belgium The Belgian university KU Leuven offers a master's in Forensic Odontology.
United Kingdom Following the closure of the MSc course at the University of Glamorgan, one can receive either an MSc in Forensic Dentistry (a one-year programme) or a Masters in Forensic Odontology (a two-year programme) from the University of Dundee in Scotland, which currently has a very limited intake.
United States There are two odontology training programs available in the US. One is a Fellowship program at The University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio Center Dental School, and the other is a master's degree program through the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture College of Veterinary Medicine.
Canada For undergraduate studies, dental school candidates in Canada are required to complete a BA or at least three years of study in a BA program before completing a dental degree. BA Programs often involve science or biomedical but can include much more, as long as students have completed the basic prerequisites needed.
There are no graduate study programs for forensic odontology specifically in Canada. Some universities have offered some involvement in forensic science disciples during clinical dental specialty projects, however, they will not graduate with credibility in the forensic odontology discipline.
Dental degrees given by universities in Canada include DDS (doctor of dental science) and DMD (doctor of dental medicine).
There is no professional certification process for forensic odontologists in Canada currently. It is possible for Canadians to certify for the ABFO, a section of the American Academy of Forensic Science. This process also includes an examination as well as the candidates must complete a career checklist of accomplishments which will be reviewed. This checklist may include fellowships, working with recognized medicolegal death investigation agencies, completing a minimum level of casework and research, and providing testimony in court cases. The ABFO and the AAFS often hold scientific sessions which offer workshops including identification, civil litigation, age determination, and bite-mark analysis. These are beneficial in helping prospective forensic practitioners move towards board-eligible status.
In Ontario, there is a group of 10 forensic dentists that are known as the Province of Ontario Dental Identification Team or better known as PODIT.
High-profile criminal cases Forensic odontology has played a key role in famous criminal cases:
In 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials, Rev. George Burroughs was accused of witchcraft and conspiring with the Devil, with biting his victims supposedly being evidence of his crimes. His bite marks and the bite marks of other people were compared to the victim's marks. The judges readily accepted the bite marks as evidence and this was the first time in what would become the United States that bite marks were used as evidence to solve a crime. He was later convicted and hanged. About two decades later, he was exonerated by the State, and his children were compensated for the wrongful execution.George Burroughs. Law2.umkc.edu. Retrieved on 2016-12-19.
One of the first published accounts involving a conviction based on bite marks as evidence was the “Gorringe case”, in 1948, in which pathologist Keith Simpson used bite marks on the breast of the victim to seal a murder conviction against Robert Gorringe for the murder of his wife Phyllis. Another early case was Doyle v. State, which occurred in Texas in 1954. The bite mark, in this case, was on a piece of cheese found at the crime scene of a burglary. The defendant was later asked to bite another piece of cheese for comparison. A firearms examiner and a dentist evaluated the bite marks independently and both concluded that the marks were made by the same set of teeth. The conviction, in this case, set the stage for bite marks found on objects and skin to be used as evidence in future cases. Fredrik Fasting Torgersen Wayne Boden – an early case of Forensic Dentistry State of Florida v. Ted Bundy State of New Jersey v. Jesse Timmendequas (Megan's Law case) People of California v. Marx, the 1975 case which established evidentiary standards for forensic odontology People of Arizona v. Ray Krone, bite mark evidence led to a wrongful conviction.
Organizations Several organizations are dedicated to the field of forensic odontology. These organizations include the Bureau of Legal Dentistry (BOLD), the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO), American Society of Forensic Odontology (ASFO), the International Organization for Forensic Odonto-Stomatology (IOFOS) and the Association Forensic Odontology For Human Rights (AFOHR), and the Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology (INPAFO). Countries have their own forensic Odontological societies, including the British Association for Forensic Odontology (BAFO) and the Australian Society of Forensic Odontology (AuSFO). Associations offering humanitarian and pro bono services include AFOHR and Dental Team DVI Italia.
In Canada, The Royal College of Dentists has not recognized forensic odontology therefore there is no organization for Canada, however, there are three small groups for forensic dentistry: BC Forensic Odontology Response Team (BC_FORT), Province of Ontario Dental Identification Team (PODIT), and a team in Quebec run out of McGill University.
The Bureau of Legal Dentistry encourages the use of multiple dental impressions to create a “dental lineup”, similar to a suspect lineup used to identify alleged perpetrators of crime. Currently, dental impressions collected as evidence are compared only to those collected from a given suspect, which may bias the resulting outcome. Using multiple dental impressions in a lineup may enable forensic odontologists to significantly decrease the current bias in matching bite marks to the teeth of a suspect. The organization BOLD also supports the creation of a database of dental records, which could help in verifying dental uniqueness.Dorion, Robert BJ. Bitemark Evidence. NY: Marcel Dekker, 2005. . This database could be created using criminal records or possibly all dental patients.
In 1984, the ABFO attempted to diminish the discrepancies and increase the validity of bite mark analysis by creating bite mark methodology guidelines. The guidelines attempt to establish standard terminology in describing bite marks and that reduces the risk of biased results. The ABFO also provides advice on how to effectively collect and preserve evidence. For example, they recommend that the collection of DNA evidence and detailed photographs of bites be taken together at the crime scene. The guidelines also outline how and what a forensic odontologist should record, such as the location, contours, shape, and size of a bite mark. They also provide a system of scoring to assess the degree to which a suspect's dental profile and bite mark match. According to the ABFO, the guidelines are not a mandate of methods to be used, but a list of generally accepted methods.American Board of Forensic Odontology. Abfo.org. Retrieved on 2016-12-19.
The guidelines are intended to prevent potentially useful evidence from being thrown out simply because the forensic odontologist's collection methods were not standardized. Kouble and Craig used a simplified version of the ABFO scoring guidelines in order to retain accuracy with a larger sample of comparisons. A numerical score was assigned to represent the degree of similarity between the bite mark and model/overlay. The higher the score, the greater the similarity. In order to simplify the model, some features that were individually scored in the ABFO guidelines such as arch size and shape were assessed together while certain distinctive features such as spacing between teeth were treated as a separate variable. The authors believe that a simplified version would increase the strength of the comparison process. In an attempt to improve guidelines used to collect dental evidence, IOFOS developed one of the most recognized systems for the collection of forensic dental evidence
Bite mark analysis