FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY

Forensic dentistry combines numerous facets of the dental, scientific, and legal professions to properly gather, handle, interpret, evaluate, and present dental evidence for criminal or civil legal procedures. The forensic odontology is a branch of dentistry that deals with the application of dental knowledge to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by the investigative agencies in a criminal justice system. The forensic odontologists help in determining the age, sex, race and characteristic features in dentition of the culprit. Forensic odontologists work on human identity cases, bite mark injuries, orofacial injuries from trauma or assault, and child abuse injuries. They also evaluate a person's age in both live and deceased instances and take part in civil cases involving charges of fraud and malpractice. The most common use of forensic odontology is for the personal identification of the deceased due to a natural or man-made disaster. This book discusses about the various aspects of forensic odontology and its application includes mass disaster investigations, evaluating bite marks as evidence in death investigations and child abuse investigations.