Forensic Odontology

Abstract

When I was a little girl, I enjoyed playing puzzle games. Although fitting many small pieces carefully together may take some time and effort, the result is always fascinating—a big and truly unique picture! Forensic science is like that. By working with these “puzzle pieces”—the pieces of evidence from a crime scene—the “big picture” almost always results. The resulting picture is a provable reconstruction of what happened, how it happened, and most importantly, who did it. This reconstruction work is done by a team of forensic specialists. They work together at the crime scene to recover, document, collect, and transport the resulting evidence to the crime laboratory for further analysis. Each expert has special skills in his or her area of expertise. The forensic odontologists on these teams are dentists who have such special skills in the areas of forensic dental science, including criminal investigation and identification. They analyze any dental evidence, make forensic conclusions, and testify in court to support their conclusions. Forensic odontologists often play an essential role in identifying either victims of disasters or victims and suspects of individual crimes. They thereby assist the legal authorities in solving crimes and bringing criminals to justice. Forensic odontologists have other roles as well. For example, their activities may range from assisting in archaeological expeditions to assessing bite marks and injuries to the teeth and facial structures for plaintiffs in civil and criminal cases.