Forensic Odontology: Forensic Dentistry as an Aid to the Pathologist - Coursework Example

Forensic Odontology A Critical Analysis Contents of the Report Introduction Odontology and Forensic Odontology Uniqueness ofMarks and Analytical Techniques Case Study: The Jesse Timmendequas Case Conclusion Introduction Over the ages man has excelled in each and every walk of life. Now he is in a position to sit back and admire at his own intelligence. Science has given man the cushion to lead a comfortable life. Medicine has been one such field that had seen a lot of advancements. The rookie tasks of saving life by curing, giving medicines are now replaced with ultimate pro tasks that not only help physician track the patients state better, but in many cases helps in criminal investigation. This field is termed as Forensic Sciences. In this article the focus would be on a branch of medicine name "Odontology". The following sections deal in detail about odontology, its history the way this practice is carried out, the key role it plays in the forensic sciences department, few of its success stories and in the later part deals with the future scope and issues related to forensic odontology (Bell, 1995). Ironically there are situations where it is out of imagination regarding the evil that men do. It is true that culprit only be punished and not the innocent. Science plays a decisive role in this area in the present day and is expected to have a more important role in the future. This article discusses in detail about odontology and its role in crime investigation. Odontology and Forensic Odontology Odontology is a branch of medicine that deals with the scientific study of teeth (Vale, 1996). This branch is mainly used by the forensic experts to find out the victim in case of criminal acts. This branch basically relies on the foundation that every specific person has unique teeth. Also the fact that the teeth can withstand to severe damages (Vale, 1996) when compared to body makes this an important piece of evidence in many cases. Evolution is a natural phenomenon. This is also seen in the field of dentistry. The basic definition of dentistry known to be the study of teeth has how evolved into a major concept known as Odontology. This concept is widely used by forensic scientists/experts to find out the victim. The simple definition of study of teeth has now evolved into a comprehensive study of the oral cavity and the way it relates to entire human body. The dentistry stream has moved up to a much higher and sophisticated level. Now the expert is able to judge and diagnose diseases from a simple root canal treatment to any range of oral cancers. Researchers believe that this (Vale, 1996) study also helps in detecting diseases like HPV and HIV early. Odontology improved its performance consistently and is now using latest techniques for the treatment of oral diseases. Practitioners in this domain comment that odontology stands in par with other domains like cardiology, pneumonolgy, immunology etc. The major contribution of odontology has been in the field of forensic sciences to help detect criminal investigations. This form of odontology is known as Forensic odontology or forensic dentistry. Forensic odontology or forensic dentistry is the practice of investigating criminal cases by carefully examining the dental evidences (Bell, 1995). These findings will be later presented to the jurisdiction that will give the verdict based on these findings. Basically evidences like the age of the person and identifying to whom these teeth belong can be extracted from these dental evidences. Practitioner generally takes the help of previous dental records or photographs. Other important evidences that can be derived from teeth are that of bite marks found either on the victim or on the perpetrator. In rare cases it is also possible that the bite marks are present on an object nearby. These marks are usually found in cases where children are abused or women are severely tortured. Few of the areas in which the forensic dentists are worth being at hand are: (Bowers, 1995)  Identifying the person based on human remains  Identifying individuals in the case of mass fatalities  Evaluating the Bite marks  Assessing the cases of child abuse or sexual attack  Estimating the age of a person  Other cases that involve Malpractices In Forensic Odontology or Forensic dentistry or Bite Mark expertise the assailant is identified by using a comparison technique. This involves recording the assailants dentition that is, his set of teeth with the record of the pattern of marks on the victim. This practice can also be useful in legal assessment of trauma to oral tissues (fumes, 1981). It should be clearly understood that there are certified specialists who deal with bite mark evidence and others for age estimation etc. Basically this means that there are specializations for each and every department and only certified professionals by the board are allowed to investigate and produce a report. A forensic dentist and an ordinary dentist have loads of difference between them. It all had begun in the year 1975 when the Marx standard of admissibility in bite marks was adopted by the courts. This standard explains that the courts need not to sacrifice the common sense and can henceforth carry on evaluate these evidence (Fumes, 1981). History of identifying a person by teeth has its roots long back in the early 60AD where a woman by name Agrippina had killed Lollia Pavlina with the help of her soldiers (Bell, 1995). In that mass fatality she could not recognize the right person and used the teeth as means of identification. During the US war, a dentist by name Paul Revere helped identify causalities by studying their bridge work. It was also to some extent used on Hitler at the end of Second World War (Sweet, 2000). Other cases where this was used were the WTC bombings and a numerous air plane crashes. The important reason which facilitates for forensic dentistry is that the resistance of teeth is very high to destruction. Also the decomposition process is very slow. Hence under extreme circumstances, using the dental evidences is an effective method. It is interesting to discuss here that the United States has a very well developed system to maintain the Dental Records. It is worth mentioning that it is the universal system. The age of a person can be estimated by comparing the six signs using the Gustafson method or by examining the root transparencies which boils out to be the well known Lamendin method (Benson, 1988). In the universal system, numbers are allotted to each and every tooth that is, they are numbered from one to Thirty Two. The surfaces of each tooth are classified under five categories. These categories give useful information about the dental pattern of a person. The information provided by them includes the filings, extractions, root configurations, surface structure, adjacent teeth, tilted or twisted teeth etc. The Categories are cuspids, Bi-Cuspids, Molars and Incisors (Bell, 1995). Types of teeth with the count of each Type The field of Bite mark comparison came up very recently however the urge of it was felt from the late 1970s. Police officials often found that the criminals left their bite impressions on the victims or on chewing gums or on objects near by the crime scene and more commonly on food products. These marks were very clear if the cases were related to child abuse, homicide or rapes. Forensic dentists classified the type of bite marks into seven unique categories that each can be tagged with four different degrees of intensity (Bowers, 1995). The classification is as follows. The first category is known as haemorrhage which is characterized by a very small bleeding spot. In the second category, if a mark on the skin persists without damaging the skin much, it is regarded as an abrasion. Another category where minor bruises are seen with ruptured blood vessels is known as contusion. The category in which an irregular puncture in the skin is seen along with bruises and torn skin is known as laceration. If the puncture in the skin is regular and the puncture is neatly visible on the skin, then it is known as Incision. In extreme conditions where there is removal of skin is known as avulsion. The ultimate stage is that of a bitten piece of body that is termed as an artefact. Each of these seven categories has four typical degrees in which the impressions might be found. They are a clearly defined degree with a significant pressure applied on the skin. The next degree is that where first degree pressure is found and it is termed as obviously defined stage. Quite noticeable stage is where a violent pressure is applied and the same is reflected in the bite mark. When the skin is torn apart from the body then it is termed as lacerated. In the above categories, commonly found bite marks are those of contusions. Practitioners often state that the best three dimensional view of the teeth is found in the case of incisions. It is practically proven that in order to evaluate and analyze a case effectively, it is essential that the bite marks be of the degree three or four, that is they be either quite noticeable or lacerated (Benson, 1988). Quite important and useful information can be found out with these studies. The violence shown in the bite marks reflects the criminals mental state and the kind of behaviour. It is interesting to notice that the bite marks on a living body and on a dead body differ a lot (Donald, 1974). Hence it would be possible for a forensic dentist to actually give an approximate time at which the event might have taken place. However, it is very important to understand that if the jurisdiction has to base the report given by the forensic dentist, it is essential that this evidence be treated as good quality evidence by the people in scientific community. Hence the rule goes this way "The Better the bite mark, the better the comparison or the result." Uniqueness of Marks and Analytical Techniques An important aspect that can determine the effectiveness of the analysis is the method adopted for the physical comparison between the records of the suspect and the bite marks found (Sweet, 2000). There are a wide number of ways in which this process can be carried out. Techniques include using confocal, reflex scanning electron microscopes, strong sources of light, dusting powder which is used for collecting finger prints and overlays. Amongst these methods the overlays technique is popular. Many practitioners believe that an effective way of physical comparison is that of transparent overlays. The American Board for forensic Odontology gives guidelines for many issues in bite marks but has not specifically mentioned as to which is the best comparison technique (Bowers, 1995). Basically, in the transparent overlays method, many forensic dentists use inexpensive materials. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of this method. In the year 1998, sweet and bowers compared five techniques used for physical comparison in overlays mechanism and came out with a conclusion that xerographic and radiographic techniques are by far the best. They have also come up with a strong statement proving that computer generated overlays were far superior when compared to hand tracing and hence they advised the practice of using computer generated techniques (Benson, 1988). Computer Generated Overlay Pattern (RRight; LLeft) Bite marks are generally found on the skins of victims and mostly for females in case of sexual attacks. These bites are of circular or elliptical in their geometry with two arcs separated at their base by about 30-40mm (Benson, 1988). The type of injuries is related to the kind of bites. Incisions give rise to rectangular injuries, canines to triangular and so on. Collecting evidences is a very important step and all dentists are given guidelines to follow to make sure that all efforts are made to collect the evidences properly. If a bite mark is found then he has to inform the same to the jurisdiction and get permission or the police seek the help of the forensic dentist and then start the following procedure. The procedure begins with a documentation which is a descriptive record in the form of narration of the bite that is seen. This includes the physical appearance, colour, size and orientation (Bowers, 1995). The next major step is to take and compile a whole set of photographs. These photographs are to be taken perpendicular to the bite and a macro lens is to be used compulsorily to get the magnified image of the same. Saliva swabs should be collected as a next step. It is quite common that the criminals saliva is found on the injured portion of the victim. Hence a double swab technique is to be used. The swabs have to be stored in a cool and dry place. It is essential that the saliva swabs are protected from bacterial contamination. This has to be followed by collecting of impressions of the bitten surface. This procedure ends up with a first aid mechanism in case of live bodies as human bite is very infectious and can cause many problems. All these practices are fundamentally based on an assumption that human dentition is unique (Bell, 1995). Uniqueness of human Dentition However this fundamental premise is often a very seriously debated issue. Many practitioners oppose to believe that human dentition is unique. Challenging these thoughts among many dentists, Dr.Rawson (Sweet, 2000) came up with a probabilistic model to prove the uniqueness of human dentition. In his experiment he has taken a sample of 397 bites. He collected the sample of bites on a wax model of same dimension with all the outdoor patients in his hospital and placed a calibrated scale in the background of the bites to have a method for measurement in the future. He calculated the angulations of each tooth and designed a coordinate axis with x and y coordinates and placed the bite pattern in the xy plane. By using a probabilistic model he found out that the minimum number of positions possible for a tooth is 150 and the maximum number of possible positions is 239.9(Sweet, 2000). Assuming the number of possible positions to be 150, he came up with a statement conforming that if five teeth pattern matches then the outcome of the result would be positive. This study of his does strengthens the argument in favour of the uniqueness of human dentition. However this experiment does not consider dependence. It can also happen that one tooth affects the position and spacing between the other teeth. This experiment does not consider these issues. Moreover the maximum possible positions a tooth can have were recomputed as 161(Sweet, 2000). In spite of these pitfalls this experiment stands as strong evidence in favour of people going for uniqueness in human dentition. An Image of a Bite mark Case Study: The Jesse Timmendequas Case Few cases in which forensic dentistry played a decisive role are that of Jesse Timmendequas who was convicted for sexually abusing his neighbour, a girl of age seven and mercilessly killing her. The person pulled out many evidences that could have proven him sober, however the bite marks on the body of the girl and the saliva slabs confirmed that she was indeed harassed and killed by Jesse. Another interesting case was of Ted Bundy who committed series murders of young women for a period of four years (Larsen, 1980). This guy escaped punishments many times as there were no strong evidences against him any time. However during his last hunt at Pensacola, he was arrested and shifted to Tallahassee where the trail took place and he was proved responsible for the death and missing of about 38 young women. The case was proved against him with the help of bite mark comparison technique. This person was sentenced death by giving him electric shock till he dies. These instances were to show the promise in the field of Forensic Dentistry. A Bite Mark that appears as an Ellipse Conclusion Forensic Odontology faces criticism because of its subjectivity and lack of a comparison standard makes the situation weaker. People always questioned the level of success in this domain for the hype it created in the Criminal investigation department. Practitioners complain that the degree of experimentation in this field has always been on the lower side. Added to this the error rates of Forensic dentistry that are considered to be important measurement for any scientific study is not mentioned. The Critical case of Ray Krone is a major set back for the bite comparison techniques. He was convicted for murder based on the bite marks found on the womans breast. After taking a severe punishment for ten years, DNA test revealed that he was not guilty of the crime. Added to all this the qualifications that the board demands by the practitioners to have an expertise in forensic dentistry can only be achieved by having a good know how of the judicial notes and attending many conferences and meetings. This process is rather painful. The issue of not having a standard comparison technique hampers the development in this domain. Many dentists do not have the opportunity to use latest equipment in their labs. This is because of the amount of expenditure that they need to incur and henceforth many drop their ideas at a premature stage. Experts in this field always used a probabilistic approach to evaluate the cases and this method is seriously questionable. The number of articles, notes, publications and journals in this domain are pretty less. In spite of all these odds it is a fact that Forensic dentistry is very helpful in investigating crimes. However, it is also important that a lot of research be done in this field before the judiciary takes decisions based on these evidences. References  Furness J (1981), “A Journal on bite mark Evidence”, Am J Forensic Med Pathol.  Webb D A, Pretty I A, Sweet D (2006), “Bite marks: a psychological approach”, Proceedings of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Reno, NV.  Vale G L. Dentistry (1996), “Bite marks and the investigation of crime”, J Calif Dent Associates.  American Board of Forensic Odontology, (1995), “ABFO Guidelines and Standards”, In Bowers C M, Bell G L (ed) Manual of Forensic Odontology, 3rd Edition.  Benson B., Cottone J. & Sperber N (1988), "Bite Mark Impressions: A Review of Techniques and Materials" Journal of Forensic Science. Bowers, M. & Bell, G. (1995), “Manual of Forensic Odontology”, 3rd edition, NY: ASFO  MacDonald, D. (1974), "Bite Mark Recognition and Interpretation" J. Forensic Sci. Soc.14:229-233  Larsen, Richard W. Bundy (1980), “The Deliberate Stranger”. Read More