Forensic Odontology An Essential Guide

After a brief introduction the book covers dental anatomy and development, expert witness skills, mortuary practice, dental human identification, disaster victim identification, dental age assessment, bite marks, forensic photography and the role of the forensic odontologist in protection of the vulnerable person. Chapters outline accepted and recommended practices and refer to particular methodologies, presenting different schools of thought objectively. 

Catherine Adams Consultant in Forensic Odontology, UKDVI & Powys Teaching Health Board, UK

Romina Carabott Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Forensic Odontology, Director of expertFORENSICS Ltd, Cardiff, UK

Sam Evans Chief Clinical and Forensic Photographer, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, UK

Acknowledgements xv

1 Brief introduction to forensic odontology 1
Romina Carabott

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Forensic odontology in the 21st century 3

1.3 Training and experience 4

1.4 How to use this book 6

1.5 References 6

2 Development of the dentition 9
Alastair J. Sloan

2.1 Early tooth development 9

2.2 Later tooth development 13

2.3 Dentinogenesis 14

2.4 Tooth root formation 16

2.5 Epithelial/mesenchymal interactions in tooth development 17

2.6 Amelogenesis 19

2.7 Biomineralisation of enamel 20

2.8 Further reading 21

3 Acting as an expert witness 23
Jason Tucker

3.1 Introduction 23

3.2 The nature of expert evidence 23

3.3 The rules of court 26

3.4 The expert’s duties 28

3.5 Report writing 30

3.6 Giving evidence at court 36

3.7 Ancillary topics 41

3.8 Things to avoid 45

3.9 A final thought 47

3.10 References 48

4 Mortuary practice 49
Alison Anderson

4.1 Definitions of a mortuary 49

4.2 The Human Tissue Act and the Human Tissue Authority 50

4.3 Legal requirements for licence issue 51

4.4 Mortuary facilities 52

4.5 The Anatomical Pathology Technologist 54

4.6 The odontologist in the mortuary: Specialist resection techniques 56

4.7 Health and safety in the mortuary 57

4.8 References 62

5 Dental human identification 65
Romina Carabott

5.1 Introduction 65

5.2 Comparative dental identification 70

5.3 Radiography in dental identification 87

5.4 Dental appliances in identification 93

5.5 Dental profiling 100

5.6 Teeth as a source of DNA 107

5.7 Conclusion 110

5.8 References 110

6 Disaster victim identification 117
Catherine Adams

6.1 Introduction 117

6.2 Disaster management 118

6.3 DVI planning 119

6.4 DVI and the dentist 120

6.5 The dental DVI team structure 121

6.6 Documentation 122

6.7 Retrieval of dental records 125

6.8 Post-mortem dental examination 127

6.9 Ante-mortem dental records 129

6.10 Dental reconciliation 130

6.11 Equipment for the dental DVI team 132

6.12 Maintaining dental team morale 135

6.13 References 135

7 Dental age assessment 137
Sakher AlQahtani

7.1 The importance of knowing age 137

7.2 The chronological age 138

7.3 The dental age 139

7.4 Dentition as an age indicator 140

7.5 Age estimation methods in children and young adults 146

7.6 Age assessment after tooth development 151

7.7 Writing a dental age report 153

7.8 Final comments 155

7.9 References 155

8 Bite marks – I 167
Douglas R. Sheasby

8.1 Introduction 167

8.2 Bite mark components 167

8.3 Nature of the injury 172

8.4 Bite mark incidence 174

8.5 Principles of bite mark analysis 174

8.6 Bite mark evidence recording 184

8.7 Bite mark analysis techniques 188

8.8 Feature-based analysis conclusions 200

8.9 Feature-based analysis report 202

8.10 Limitations of bite mark analysis 204

8.11 References 207

9 Bite marks – II 211
Roland Kouble

9.1 Guidelines for bite mark analysis 211

9.2 Collection of evidence 211

9.3 Assessment of the suspected bite mark injury 212

9.4 Examination of the dentition of the suspected biter/biters 214

9.5 Bite mark comparisons 214

9.6 Bite mark reports and presentation of evidence to a court 220

9.7 References 221

10 Forensic photography and imaging 223
Sam Evans

10.1 Introduction 223

10.2 The photography of bite marks 223

10.3 Relevant equipment 226

10.4 Digital image file formats 231

10.5 Guidance for preparation of equipment for forensic photography 234

10.6 Photographing a bite mark 235

10.7 Photographing dentition 241

10.8 Image downloading and storage 247

10.9 Imaging modalities 250

10.10 Three-dimensional technology 256

10.11 Image enhancement and processing 264

10.12 References 273

11 Role of the forensic odontologist in the protection of vulnerable people 277
Barbara Chadwick and Catherine Adams

11.1 Introduction 277

11.2 Bite marks and vulnerable people 278

11.3 Dental neglect in childhood 279

11.4 Legislative framework for child protection in the UK 287

11.5 Protection of the vulnerable adult 288

11.6 Record keeping 290

11.7 Summary chart 292

11.8 Further reading 294

11.9 References 294

Index 297

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