Odontology – Dentistry's Contribution to Truth and Justice

Forensic Science Practice in the United States

“…The celebrated Parkman affair cited earlier is typically referenced as one of the earliest American cases in which a denture was used to identify badly burned remains, and the first case involving a bitemark leading to a conviction dates back to the 1950s (Pretty et al, 2013). Over the years, odontologists have been regularly involved in the identification of victims of various types of mass disasters, ranging from natural disasters, airline crashes, human rights cases, and acts of terrorism.…”

“…The Scientific Working Group on Disaster Victim Identification (SWGDVI), sponsored by the FBI and working with domestic and international agencies, is working to set best practices for teams worldwide working in multiple fatality incidents (SWGDVI, 2013). Additional dental charting work is sponsored by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Council (JPAC) as is the work of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) to aid in assembling and comparing pre-and postmortem information records to aid in disaster victim identification (Pretty et al, 2013). The identification of missing and unidentified persons by the NCIC is yet another area where dental evidence is vital.…”

“…As noted above, it was the third area that has the greatest need for research. Pretty et al (2013) point out the serious human subject problems in developing databases of various forms of bitemarks on live subjects. This problem may be insurmountable.…”