Forensic Dentistry

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Forensic dentistry or forensic odontology is the proper handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence, which will be then presented in the interest of justice. The evidence that may be derived from teeth, is the age (in children) and identification of the person to whom the teeth belong. This is done using dental records or ante-mortem (prior to death) photographs. Forensic odontology is derived from Latin, meaning forum or where legal matters are discussed. The first forensic dentist in the United States was Paul Revere who was known for the identification of fallen revolutionary soldiers. The other type of evidence is that of bite marks, left on either the victim (by the attacker), the perpetrator (from the victim of an attack), or on an object found at the crime scene. Bite marks are often found on children who are abused.