If you’re learning as much as you can about forensic science, then you’re going to want to know about forensic odontology. This might not be the first topic that you start to look into when you have an interest in forensics, but it’s a very important part of the process. Forensic odontology is about applying dental science to forensic investigations. This means using dental data to identify bite marks or using that data to identify a victim that was left at a crime scene.
Why Forensic Odontology Matters So Much
Forensic odontology is something that can be used to identify criminals in many circumstances. It isn’t uncommon for criminals to leave behind bite marks at a crime scene. This could happen because a victim left behind food scraps that have bite marks on them. For example, someone could have left some chewing gum at the scene of a crime or they could have even bitten the victim of a crime.
When this occurs, a forensic odontologist is able to use dental data to help identify who the bite marks belong to. This data can potentially match a suspect to the crime scene using the bite marks. Casts or molds of the bite marks can be made and this can be used to further the investigation. This has led to many breakthroughs in cases and you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of forensic odontology.
Identifying a Body
Identifying a body is not always easy to do and there are times when a corpse is found in a very decayed state. Sometimes the only reliable way to identify a body is to use dental records to see who the victim is. Dental records can be obtained and then compared to the teeth of the victim. Ideally, this will lead to a positive match so that investigators can at least know who the victim is so that they can move forward from there.
The field of forensic odontology has helped many investigations to move forward. Dental data is very valuable and it can easily help investigators to determine more about what happened at a crime scene. You might not think that something as simple as a bite mark could make a huge difference, but it often does.