Dental examination and handling of dental evidence in the court of law by dental expert during the administration of justice in the interest of law and justice is termed forensic odontology.
In other words, application of dental science evidence in relation to justice during administration of justice in the court of law is termed forensic odontology.
Forensic odontology plays a major role in those circumstances where all the conventional measures like fingerprint, body marks of scars and congenital deformities or other identifying marks as well as medical measures like skeletal remains etc have been fully destroyed or failed to offer conclusive evidence in court of law.
In India, however it is noticed that, in clinical practice, in court, major evidence is handled by forensic pathologists. But, in western countries, science of forensic odontology has greatly advanced and applied in significant ways.
Forensic odontology has proved to be useful in the following ways in forensicology;
• Identification of the identity of unknown, in both the living and the dead by dental identification, in regards to victims as well as criminals.
• Age and sex determination in crimes of rape, assault, murder and suicides or even underaged marriages or in decomposed bodies and charred bodies by dental evidence.
• Identification of injury and damage to craniofacial structures in accidents for claims of civil compensations.
• Scope of odontology is also extended in assisting forensic medicine and forensic pathology as the teeth and dental restorations prove to be undestroyed and serve as rich source of crime detection and diagnosis.
• Dental pulp in tooth in dried state of longer duration duration remains good source of longer duration remains good source of genetic finger printing in isolated case where onlremains good source of genetic finger printing in isolated case where onl tooth is discovered from the deceased body or exhumed body for sex identification.
Historical example wherein forensic odontology proved to be useful in identifying the body of the dictator Hitler;
In Berlin, in may 1945, badly burnt bodies were found in the bunker. One of these bodies was of Hitler, but could not be identified because the bodies were all charred. But when a dental check-up was performed of all the bodies, Hitler’s dentist identified the body of Hitler based on the dental records and dental X-rays of Hitler.
We the general dental practitioners can help in developing the futuristic forensic odontological science in India by the following methods;
• Accurate and good dental records keeping of all the patients who visit us.
• Creating awareness among the public as well as the police in relation to forensic odontological science.
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