Forensic dentistry


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, occupation, previous dental history, and socioeconomic status of unidentified human beings.
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, the perpetrator, 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, National Academy of Sciences, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

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.
Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology: The INPAFO Fellowship/Scholarship is a program offered by the Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology 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, 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.

Australia

Postgraduate diploma programs for dentists are available at The University of Melbourne, The University of Western Australia, and The University of Adelaide.

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 or a Masters in Forensic Odontology 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 and DMD.
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.
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.
Another landmark case was People v. Marx, which occurred in California in 1975. A woman was murdered by strangulation after being sexually assaulted. She was bitten several times on her nose. Walter Marx was identified as a suspect and dental impressions were made of his teeth. Impressions and photographs were also taken of the woman's injured nose. These samples along with other models and casts were evaluated using a variety of techniques, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional comparisons, and acetate overlays. Three experts testified that the bite marks on the woman's nose were indeed made by Marx and he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
Several organizations are dedicated to the field of forensic odontology. These organizations include the Bureau of Legal Dentistry, the American Board of Forensic Odontology, American Society of Forensic Odontology, the International Organization for Forensic Odonto-Stomatology and the Association Forensic Odontology For Human Rights. Countries have their own forensic Odontological societies, including the British Association for Forensic Odontology and the Australian Society of Forensic Odontology. In 1996, BOLD was created at the University of British Columbia to develop new technology and techniques in forensic odontology. The University of British Columbia program is the only one in North America that provides graduate training in forensic odontology.
In Canada, The Royal College of Dentists has not recognized forensic odontology therefore there is no organization for Canada, however, there are three well-developed and trained groups for forensic dentistry. These groups include British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. British Columbia has a team called BC Forensic Odontology Response Team which is led by six dentists. They focus on disaster-victim identification work. Ontario has a team of ten forensic dentists called the Province of Ontario Dental Identification Team. Quebec has a team that is run out of McGill University and they offer a well-established forensic dentistry online course that focuses on human bite-mark evidence. These teams are kept small in order to maintain a relationship between forensic dentists and casework.
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. 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.
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
Indo-Pacific Academy of Forensic Odontology:
The , established in 2007, is a leading professional body dedicated to advancing forensic odontology, with a strong presence in the Indo-Pacific region and global outreach. Under the guidance of its Patron, Dr. , and visionary leadership of its Founder President, Dr. , the Academy has fostered collaboration, education, and research in this specialised field. With Dr. as General Secretary, INPAFO continues to expand its influence through initiatives such as the Journal of INPAFO, an acclaimed scientific publication. Learn more at
There is only one international association promoting humanitarian forensic odontology, called AFOHR. It was inaugurated in 2015 by a group of experts in Lyon during the Interpol DVI annual meeting, following the inspiration of Emilio Nuzzolese, forensic odontologist from Italy. In 2019 the group evolved into Association adopting a by Laws and an elected Board.
In 2016, an association of civil protection called Dental Team DVI Italia was founded in Bari, Italy, in order to offer pro bono services in the field of human identification and DVI Disaster Victim Identification to support Italian DVI teams.