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1) Forensic Odontology - Bite Marks
1) Forensic Odontology - Bite Marks
IMPORTANCE OF BITE MARK IN CRIME INVESTIGATIONS : - Bite mark can accurately depict the unique pattern of Biters teeth - Helps to identify the culprit or exclude an innocent person
animal
Narrow , anterior aspect , V shaped & elongated
Teeth
Injury pattern
sites
In females usually on breast, Extremities such as feet , legs , abdomen, nipple, thigh, back & hands, arms ,exposed skin shoulder in case of sexual assault in fight & violence
Cat Bite
Dog Bite
Monkey Bite
Human Bite
BITE MARK defined as: The mark made by human or animal teeth in the skin of alive people, cadavers or unanimated objects with relatively softened consistence A mark caused by the teeth either alone or in combination with other mouth parts
WHAT IS A BITEMARK?
Bitemark considered as :
A physical alteration in a medium caused by the contact of teeth A representative pattern left in an object or tissue by the dental structures of an animal or human
Bite mark analysis, in a forensic investigation, can elucidate the kind of violence and the elapsed time between its production and the examination
Indicates , if the bite was produced intravitam or post-mortem In case of several bite marks, helps in identification of the sequence
By observing, analyzing and interpreting, the bite marks constitute a important medical-judiciary proof in some cases of offense and help in suspects exclusion or point out the culpability elements
Size , shape and pattern of the incisal or biting edges of upper and lower anterior teeth to be specific to an individual
IS BITEMARKS USEFUL?
Bitemarks used to carry out bitemark analysis i.e. a comparison of a known persons dentition to a patterned injury which appears consistent with a bitemark This type of comparison is used to confirm or eliminate the identity of a suspect in relation to the bitemark
1) 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth) 2)2nd Molar (12-yr molar) 3)1st Molar (6-yr molar) 4)2nd Bicuspid (2ndpremolar) 5)1st Bicuspid (1st premolar) 6)Cuspid (canine tooth) 7)Lateral incisor . 8)Central incisor
9)Central incisor 10)Lateral incisor 11)Cuspid (canine tooth) 12)1st Bicuspid (1st premolar) 13)2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar) 14)1st Molar (6-yr molar) 15)2nd Molar (12-yr molar) 16)3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)
17) 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth) 18) 2nd Molar (12-yr molar) 19) 1st Molar (6-yr molar) 20) 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar) 21) 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar) 22) Cuspid (canine/eye tooth) 23) Lateral incisor 24) Central incisor 25) Central incisor 26) Lateral incisor 27) Cuspid (canine/eye tooth) 28) 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar) 29) 2nd Bicuspid (2nd premolar) 30) 1st Molar (6-yr molar) 31) 2nd Molar (12-yr molar) 32) 3rd Molar (wisdom tooth)
- Tooth arrangement is different in everyone - Teeth can be arranged in 1.36 x 1026 combinations (12 anterior teeth combination) - The Uniqueness is reproduced in the bite marks
1) Cameron and Sims classification: - Based on the type of agent producing the bite mark and the material exhibiting it - Agents: Human Animal - Material: Skin , Body tissue Foodstuff Other Materials
MacDonalds classification:
- Suggested an etiologic classificaation - Pertinent for human bite marks 1) Tooth pressure Marks- direct application of pressure by teeth causes marks on tissue - by incisal or occlusal surfaces of teeth 2) Tongue Pressure Marks- tongue presses tissue against rigid areas (lingual surface of teeth) - combination of sucking and tongue thrusting involved - known as suckling marks
3) Tooth Scrape Marks- Scraping of teeth across the bitten material - Caused by anterior teeth - Scratches or superficial abrasions
TYPES OF INJURY
INDENTATIONS : -Ideal for bite mark analysis -Seldom persist for more than a few minutes unless the victim is dead
CONTUSION (bruises) : -Edema subsides and subcutaneous bleeding apparent -Most common presentation of bite marks -Appears reddish or purplish discoloration of skin surface
LACERATION: - Breakage in the integrity of skin surface , due to great intensity of bite ABRASIONS AVULSION: - Extreme form of bite mark injury - part of the tissue is bitten off
Individual features: - Class features having fractures , rotations , spacing etc - Bite marks are distinct
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS : distance from cuspid to cuspid tooth alignment teeth width, thickness, spacing
missing teeth
wear patterns including chips and grinding dental history including fillings, crowns, etc.
In general, a person bites an object, the superior teeth hold the object while the inferior ones cut it The mark left by the superior teeth, is extremely relevant in order to provide information such as: Dental alignment, Size and Shape of dental archs
Bite mark generally - circular or ovoid, and can have an appearance similar to sweet dough, like a doughnut or the dental arch may be registered as horseshoe shape patches
Human adult dentition consists of 32 teeth and each one of them has its own size, shape and features
Unique in every individual due to extractions, bad alignment, bad positioning, bad development, spaces, dental fractures, restorations and other numerous factors
Therefore, action of the dental arch on the skin may produce many kinds of lesions, as the dental elements act as incisive instruments or even incisive-cut Evidence of a bite mark is usually crucial to establish that two subjects have been involved in a violent contact in a crime scene Greatest challenge in Forensic Dentistry are bite marks found in human skin, because of the distortion presented and the time elapsed between the production and the analysis
Factors that can affect the structure of the lesions produced by bite marks, include: Applied force, Bite duration and Movement between tissues and teeth
Preliminary questions
Is the injury a bite mark? Was it caused by human teeth? How is the BM clarity? Caused by adult or child? Does it correspond to the crime? Are there individual characteristics?
Visual examination :
- Visual examination and documentation orientation and location of the mark type of injury colour , size and shape contour, texture ,and elasticity of the bite site difference between upper and lower arches and between individual teeth
PHOTOGRAPHY
Provides a permanent record of bite marks
Orientation photography location of bite mark in body Close up photograph ABFO No. 2 scale Another closeup photograph without scale Should be taken perpendicularly to injured area
In case of alive victim, photographs can be repeated every 24 hours for 3-4 days to record progressive changes in appearance of bite marks
Photography
SALIVA SWABS :
Taken from bite mark or if bitten from clothes then collect it from clothes Saliva have WBCs & sloughed epitheloid cells which are potential source of DNA Cotton swab moist with distill water used for swabbing Swab is air dried at room temperature (30mins), placed in labeled envelopes and refrigerated to prevent DNA degradationand bacterial growth Use of high intensity alternative light source(Uv light) used to locate stains from body fluids enable saliva traces to recver , in absence of visible bite marks
IMPRESSIONS
For tooth indentations
Material of choice Vinyl Polysiloxane -Imperession material reinforced with dental stone, auto polymerizing acrylic or impression compound to prevent dimensional change PRECAUTION Owing to the elastic nature of skin, indentation soon disappear as skin regains its original contour
Wrong Photograph
Casts/Bite Sample
Saliva Swab
BITEMARK ANALYSIS
A dentist is required to compare the impressions and bruises left in the skin by one person biting another to a suspects teeth
Bitemark Analysis
In a bitemark comparison, you are looking for and matching unique features between the bitemark and exemplar castings. These features may include:
Gaps Rotation (angle) Size of teeth (e.g. width at tip) Width from tooth to tooth (e.g. cuspid to cuspid)
Sample Analysis
Sample Analysis
Bitemark : Upper Jaw Distance Suspect; Upper Jaw Distance
Cuspid to cuspid
38mm
Cuspid to cuspid
42mm
44.25mm
Angle: + 14.5 Degrees
39.65mm
Angle: + 12.52 Degrees
ACETATE OVERLAYS
Most of these techniques involve the fabrication of an acetate overlay An acetate overlay is an outline of the biting edge of someones teeth as traced onto and seen on a clear transparency Fabricated in a number of ways A review of the literature has found over 15 methods Include tracing from dental models, photographs, wax bites, photocopies
COMPUTER PROGRAMS
Have been developed to overcome some of these problems Theoretically they can; Correct for distortion Generate the overlay objectively Carry out the comparison objectively Reproduce the overlay
- By comparing the bite mark separately with the cast of the suspect DIRECTLY
- By computer software 3-D/CAD
Bite marks are photographed with a scale - Bite marks on skin are taken over repeated intervals Casts of impression are taken Impression traced onto transparencies Casts of suspects teeth are taken Comparison between suspect cast and bite mark
Computer Odontology
Automatic dental code matching - Bites are run through the computer to find a match OdontoSearch - Compare a data base of missing peoples, felons, government workers Automatic dental identification system - A few minutes will produce a list of people who have the same dental code number
3D Bite mark analysis - 3D scans of dental casts are used to generate overlays using various pressure and deviation - The overlays are compared with the photograph of the bite marks
SUMMARY:
Identification of bite marks on victims Comparison of bite marks with teeth of a suspect
- As a result, suggested that bitemark analysis using acetate overlays are inaccurate, subjective and non-reproducible
No significant way to experimentally control or establish the amount of positional variation in an actual bitemark case
Reality - skin is usually a poor impression material No significant tests have been published on this subject since 1971 in the odontology literature
- Outlines of the same set of teeth -Different perimeter shapes depend on how far the teeth are pressed into the test substrate
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