Forensic & We-The Dentists

PRESENTED BY: MADHURIMA KUNDUGUIDED BY: Dr. GOUTHAM B.S. READER

Department Of Public Health Dentistry

Dr. SUJATHA RAMACHANDRA. SENIOR LECTURER.

Department Of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology

KALINGA INSTITUTE OF DENTAL SCIENCESBHUBANESWARODISHA

1. DEFINITION

2. HISTORY

3. DENTAL REMAINS: EnamelDentinPulpCementumMaxilla & Mandible

4. CONCLUSION

5. REFERENCES

Branch of dentistry which, in the interest of justice, deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence, and with the proper evaluation and presentation of dental findings. –(Federation Dentaire Internationale)

The first forensic odontologist in the United States was Dr. Paul Revere

who identified the extremed body of Dr. Joseph Warren, a revolutionary

the British in 1775 through a bridge of silver and ivory that he had

constructed two years previously

The first treatise on forensic odontology was written by Dr. Oscar Amoedo

in 1898 & he is known as the Father of Forensic Odontology

Dr. Ashith B. Acharya, from India is an internationally acclaimed

renowned forensic dentist

ENAMEL

DENTIN

PULP

CEMENTUM

Maxillary bone

The aspartic acid in human tooth enamel shows increasing racemization with age. The rate constant for the racemization reaction of aspartic acid in human tooth

enamel was found to be 8.29 X 10(-4) yr-1. This rate constant suggests that in any protein with a long in vivo lifetime, D-aspartic acid will accumulate with age (about 8% of total aspartic acid in enamel will be the D-enantiomer after 60 years). Thus,

racemization may play some role in the aging process. Aspartic acid racemization in tooth enamel also provides a biochronological tool for assessing the age of living

mammals.

E

N

A

M

E

L

CALIPER BASED DIGITAL METHOD

D

E

N

T

I

N

Assessment of age from the dentition constitutes an important step in constructing an identity profile of the decedent. Dentinal

translucency is one of the morpho-histologicparameters considered best for dental age

estimation, not only in terms of accuracy but also simplicity

P

U

L

P

Recently, teeth have been the subject of DNA studies as the dental hard tissue which physically

encloses the pulp and offers an anatomical configuration of great durability.

Moreover, when morphologically evaluated, even a single tooth provides valuable information regarding the individual to whom the tooth belongs.

Soft tissue within coronal and radicular pulp chamberconsists of odontoblasts, fibroblasts, endothelial cells,peripheral nerves and nucleated components of blood,which are rich sources of DNA.

Extraction of DNA from the human body remainsa difficult task and depends upon numerousenvironmental factors and extraction procedures.DNA from hard tissues like bone and teeth aremost stable even after putrefaction of bodies.

C

E

M

E

N

T

U

M

CEMENTUM ANNULATIONS

Tooth cementum annulation, the microscopic method for the determination of an individual’s age, gives results that are highly correlated with the chronological age of an individual. Nevertheless, this method is still rarely used for age estimation in archaeological populations.

The use of cementum in the

determination of age in humans begins

with the measuring of the total width

of the layer of cementum before the

lines are counted.

Depending on the individual’s age, the thickness of

Acellular Extrinsic Fiber Cementum ranges from 20 to

250mm.

Alternating light and dark rings are subject to seasonal

rhythms, which most likely occur under the influence of

several factors such as a dose of UV-radiation, climatic

conditions, different qualities of diet and the hormonal

status of the individuals.

With the age changes, there has been a lot of changes in the growth of maxilla and mandible.

In children before tooth eruption, the mental foramen is somewhat closer to the alveolar margin; during the eruption period, the mental foramen descends to half way between the upper and lower margins and in adults with the teeth preserved, and it is somewhat closer to the inferior border. With loss of teeth and bone resorptionthe mental foramen moves upwards closer to the alveolar border.

The tooth being the integral part of the body, the hardest substance to endure all types of environmental conditions has importance of each of its parts.

Forensic Odontology is a vital and integral part of

forensic science that is most widely utilized for

identification of the living and deceased persons. In

India, qualified forensic odontologists are very few.

So, an attempt should be made to reinforce

awareness in dental practitioners about the role of

dentists in person identification to awaken the

social responsibility of maintaining dental records of

all patients.

1. B.C. Manjunath, B.R. Chandrasekhar, Melkundi Mahesh, R.M.VatchalaRani. DNA Profiling and forensic dentistry-a review of the recent concepts and trends. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2011: Volume 18(2011).

2. T. Hasan. Characteristics Of The Mental Foramen In Different Populations. The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology, 2010: Volume 4 Number 2.

3. David K Whittaker. Research in Forensic Odontology. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1982: Volume 64.

4. Denice Higgins, Jeremy J.Austin. Teeth as a source of DNA for forensic identificationof human remains: A review. Science and Justice, 2013.

5. Marija B.Radovic. Aging in the Danube Gorges population-Tooth Cementum Annulation Method. Original Research Article.

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