Research Paper On Forensic Odontology

Forensic odontologists are experienced medical professionals, who are trained dentist that help identify unknown remains through dental records. Forensic odontology offers the widest variety of working conditions out of all of the other dental specialties. Forensic odontologists have been an essential aspect in helping identify skeletal remains. Sometimes all that is left behind for evidence is the teeth of the subject. With only this evidence to work with, the odontologist is called upon to process the remains. Since teeth are made of enamel, the hardest substance the body produces, and can survive severe conditions and still be viable for analysis, they become a significant piece of evidence used in the identification of unknown subjects. .Even though teeth are just another part of the skull, the amount of info in one tooth makes it a subject unto itself .

Although oral problems have been around since the “beginning of mankind” (SB 1), the work in the dental field is still changing today. Efforts of treating tooth decay date back to 2700 B.C in Egypt and ancient China. Archaeologists examined the jaws of skulls only

After finding some skeletal remains, the police have provided a list of three missing persons, Kim Lee, Theresa Woods and Jonathan Parker. While spending multiple days in the lab, plenty of information was collected to help with the identification of the bones, such as the sex of the victim, the age of the victim and the approximate height and race of the victim. This data was compiled to draw a conclusion and safely identify the remains.

Have certain interrogatories popped in your head repeatedly? How do we know if someone hears us beyond the grave? Can they determine if I died of natural causes or did someone cut my life thread short? Never really  thought about it have you? Well, if you did or not the answer is yes people!!! There are people who are adamant about understanding what caused our life to take a quick or long turn to the big paradise in the sky or the land of milk and honey as most people heard and proffered. They are the superheroes, advocates for the dead, Forensic Pathologist is the name. They hold the most important jobs in the world, because like I said before they are insistant with knowing what or whom triggered your expiration date?  Ha just a little humor for my comedy readers, yes you may have heard or be familiar of this occupation on Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order SVU, CSI, etc.

The Eighteenth Century. Giulio Gaetano Zumbo, Abraham Chavet and Ercole Lelli’s were the artists responsible for creating the practice. They developed the different methods of creating an image of a potential victim by using clay. These artists can be credited with pioneering the theory behind facial reconstruction: that is, from the shape and proportions of the skull can be inferred how the muscles were attached and shaped, defining the parameters of the face; anatomical correctness was important, rather than an exact likeness (Verzé, 2009). If law enforcement found a body of an unknown person, there was, no way of telling whom the person was if the body was severely damaged or decomposed. Determining who a person was with an unidentified body could pose a major problem for law enforcement.

This paper explores the history of forensic odontology, the technologies of odontology, the requirements to pursue a career in forensic odontology, and two infamous cases that forensic odontology helped to reach a conviction of both Ted Bundy and Wayne Boden. Many of the sources used will cover multiple topics, but each topic will be addressed in its own paragraph and each topic will be gone into detail with explanation regarding why each piece of information was provided. Articles that cover the history of odontology will address both the beginnings of odontology and where odontology has come today. Articles covering the technologies of odontology will address how technologies have progressed and the origin of them. Articles containing details on how one may pursue a career in forensic odontology will cover educational requirements and recommendations from experts who have worked in the field for many of years. Articles pertaining to Ted Bundy and his respective case and Wayne Boden and his respective case will delve deep into how odontologists were able to match the two criminals to bite marks left on victims and ultimately convict them of their crimes.

In 1948, the professional organization of forensic scientists in America (AAFS) was established (Lyman, 2014). Members of the AAFS include pathology and biology, toxicology, criminalistics, questioned documents, and forensic odontology, anthropology, serology, and ballistics (Lyman, 2014). The science advancement in these areas of study

The book gives a general overview of the field of forensic science. The sections of the book include “The Scene of the Crime; Working the Scene--The Evidence; Working the Scene of the Body Human;

The objective of this paper is to analyze a criminal investigation tool for identification of an unrecognizable and unidentifiable body. The paper specifically examines forensic facial recognition and the four different categories of techniques that aid in identification. The four techniques include, two-dimensional facial reconstruction, photographic superimposition, three-dimensional clay facial reconstruction, and three-dimensional computer-based facial reconstruction. As these techniques are discussed, the paper further outlines the limitations of each technique and the controversy over forensic facial reconstruction. There are researchers that oppose this method of identification and find it unreliable and more of an art than

Also, their expertise is required in both of the cases when body disposals and tampering with the deceased can cause unpredicted circumstances. Forensic archaeologists had help with facial reconstructions and bone tissues and skeletal remains discovered in identifying the age and sex with both cases in solving and recognizing the women's identification. The main focuses of the investigations like these are not only to gain insights but to record evidence and identify individuals.

Having the opportunity to shadow in many healthcare environments including general practice and a hospital rehabilitation ward allowed me to learn about a range of conditions that affect the human body. Observing people from a variety of races and cultures interested me and made me feel privileged to live amongst a modern cosmopolitan population and is a topic I would be interested in taking further into higher education. I decided to complete an extended project in order to expand my knowledge in an area of study that interests me. My chosen area being the identification of human remains through forensic odontology. Areas that I found most interesting were the ethnic and sex differences in human teeth and the surrounding craniofacial bones.

It is assumed that everyone’s dentitions are unique to everyone. Forensic Odontology consists of applying dental knowledge to criminal and civil law cases, in identifying a potential suspect whose dentitions were left on a victim, deceased or alive through a bite mark. Human identification in forensic odontology consists of identifying a deceased victim through dental records and DNA from teeth that were possibly found at a possible crime scene. The teeth are then compared to dental data for a possible match of who’s identity the teeth may belong to (Franco, 2015). Many times, the use of Forensic Odontology identification is useful for identification purposes of those victims who suffered death due to a natural disaster. Human bite marks can be found on the skin of a living or deceased victim, adult or child, victim or

Focusing on some of the specific sciences involved with Criminalistics, Odontology is a topic that warrants mentioning. Forensic Odontology is the handling examination and evaluation of dental evidence, which is presented in interest of justice (Haqh, Poonam, M, & Doddamani, 2016). Despite all of the advancements made in modern technology, medical breakthroughs, crime still persists in virtually every aspects of our lives. These heinous activities that shatter the lives of victims, their friends and families and occur every day. Little can be done to repair such damage once inflicted. So the detention and subsequent prosecution of the perpetrator(s) who commit these acts is essential to maintaining society. Through the field of forensic odontology,

Estimating the age at time of death from an unidentified individual’s remains is an important factor of forensic anthropology. There are certain standard processes and procedures that are employed in the lab to help determine the age as well as other biological profile data. In young adults, bone and tooth maturation are often used to roughly estimate the age of the body. In adults, the deterioration of bones is used to predict the age of the unknown body.

There are numerous conditions which could result in the pain experienced by a patient who reports a “toothache”. Many times, an odontogenic etiology—such as caries, cracked tooth, infection, or periodontal abscess—for the pain can be identified, treated, and resolved. However, in some cases, there is no odontogenic etiology for the pain, requiring a more complicated differential diagnosis. After eliminating the possibility of odontogenic conditions by examination, radiography, and pulp tests, several other conditions should be considered.