Teeth – hard evidence in forensics
Human dentition is extremely strong. It can survive explosions and very serious accidents, even plane crashes. It withstands temperatures of up to nearly 1600°C. For this reason, human teeth are very good material for identifying a person whose body was destroyed in a disaster or discovered many years after death.
Human teeth are as unique as fingerprints
No two fingerprint patterns are identical, and no two dental patterns are identical. For this reason, among others, dental examination allows for the precise identification of the individual to whom they belonged. Dental examination in forensics allows for the consideration of inherent human characteristics, such as irregularities in their number, bite anomalies, crown structure, enamel hypoplasia, but also acquired dental characteristics resulting from diseases, dental treatment, specifics of fixing prostheses, implants, and veneers.
Sometimes a human body can be so destroyed by various mechanisms that it is difficult to obtain any DNA material or fingerprints. Interestingly, forensic technicians, based on human dentition, are able to determine with high probability not only the age and gender of a person, but often also their… profession. Decalcification of the enamel with sugar dust deposited on it may indicate that the person was a baker or a pastry chef by profession. Heavy wear of the tooth crowns may be an indication that the person worked as a stonemason (wear due to stone dust). Again, chipped teeth may indicate that the person might have been a shoemaker or a tailor during their lifetime (teeth helped in holding needles or nails).
A dental record and X-rays can provide a vast amount of important evidence. Based on the teeth, a dentist can determine a person's age, gender, and even social status (among other things, based on oral hygiene care, prosthetic restorations).
Odontology and odontoscopy
A part of forensic odontology is odontoscopy, which examines bite marks and other traces left by the stomatognathic system**. Odontoscopy is widely used, among other things, in criminal cases where the perpetrator leaves bite marks on the victim's body. Thanks to these marks, it is possible to successfully identify a person who has committed crimes such as rape or murder, as well as in cases of family pathologies such as child abuse. "Sometimes the pain experienced by a child is so severe that it leads to self-harm by biting. A child subjected to physical violence may also have knocked-out or chipped teeth, as well as dental neglect."*
Forensic odontology is often the last resort when trying to identify deceased persons of unknown identity. They can be identified with a person who went missing some time ago by comparing the dental records of their entire treatment (from school, university, military service, records obtained from the family, dental and jaw X-rays, private documents) with the teeth of the deceased. According to Interpol data, as many as 86% of such victims are identified on the basis of teeth, 12% on the basis of fingerprints, and 0.5% on the basis of DNA testing.
—
** the morphological and functional complex of tissues and organs within the oral cavity and craniofacial region, constituting a functional unit and participating in food intake (mastication, initial digestion, and swallowing), sound articulation, breathing, and the expression of emotions. (https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uklad_stomatognatyczny)
