Forensic Odontology – Principles and Practice

Editors Jane A. Taylor Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Australia Jules A. Kieser (Deceased) Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, New Zealand

Contributors xiv Dedications xvi Preface xviii 1 Foundation knowledge in forensic odontology 1 Jules A. Kieser, Jane A. Taylor, Zaf Khouri and Maurice Churton Introduction 1 A short history of forensic odontology 2 Forensic odontology in Australia 5 Forensic odontology in New Zealand 10 Working as an odontologist 19 References 20 2 Jurisprudence and forensic practice 23 David L. Ranson Legal systems and the healthcare community 23 Types of law 28 The coronial system 32 The investigators within the coroner s jurisdiction 38 Court procedures and the expert medical witness 41 Long term preparation 48 Medium term preparation 48 Short term preparation 49 Logistics of appearing as a witness 49 Refreshing memory 50 Revision of medical knowledge 51 Medico legal analysis 52 Pre trial conference 52 Entering the court 53 Conversations outside the court 53 Appearance and behaviour 54 Report writing 57 Reference 63 Recommended reading 63 3 Anatomy and morphology 64 Mark Leedham and Erin F. Hutchinson Dental anatomy and morphology 64 Morphogenetic fields 65 Additional teeth 66 Hypodontia 70 Shape anomalies 72 Peg lateral incisors 72 General head and neck anatomy 73 Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) 73 Infratemporal fossa 74 Pterygopalatine fossa 74 Mandibular nerve 75 Salivary glands 75 Oral cavity 76 Blood supply and lymphatic drainage of the orodental tissues 77 Osteology of the juvenile and adult craniofacial complex 77 Neurocranium 77 Frontal bone 80 Parietal bone 84 Occipital bone 86 Temporal bone 95 Sphenoid bone 103 Viscerocranium 110 Zygomatic bone 110 Lacrimal bone 113 Ethmoid bone 114 Inferior nasal concha 116 Vomer bone 117 Nasal bone 119 Maxilla 119 Palatine 125 Mandible 126 References 130 4 Forensic pathology 134 David L. Ranson and Norman Firth The role of the forensic pathologist 134 The medico legal autopsy 135 Post mortem changes in the deceased 139 Decomposition 140 Radiological examination 140 External examination 141 Head 142 Trunk 143 Limbs 143 Internal examination 144 The face, head and neck 145 The thorax 151 The abdomen and pelvis 153 The genitalia 154 The limbs 154 Post autopsy procedures 154 Injuries 155 Classification of injuries 156 Injury interpretation 164 Injury and cause of death 165 References 166 Recommended reading 166 5 Human identification 167 Stephen Knott Human identification 167 We have the right to our name when we die 167 Methods of identification 168 Human dentition 169 Teeth: the last tissue to disintegrate 169 Role of the primary identifiers 171 Visual 171 Fingerprints 171 DNA 172 Medical and anthropological 173 Ante mortem dental data 173 Dental records or dental data? 174 Dental prostheses 175 Oral implants 176 Orthodontics 176 Radiographic images: facial sinuses and anatomical features within the bone 176 Superimposition 178 Facial reconstruction 179 Standards for acceptance of identification 181 References 183 6 Mortuary techniques 185 Alain G. Middleton The dental post mortem 185 What is the purpose of the dental post mortem? 185 Components of a dental post mortem 186 Location 186 Facilities 186 Equipment basic requirements 186 Ventilation 186 Lighting 187 Examination table 187 Oral health and safety personal protection 187 Head hair 187 Face 187 Hands 188 Body covering 188 Footwear 188 Tools of the trade 188 Photography 189 Capture device (camera and lens/es) and media 189 Producing and processing images 189 Organising images 190 Using images 190 Backup 190 Archiving 190 Depth of field 191 Fragments and single teeth 191 Radiographic equipment 192 CT scanning equipment 192 Teeth for DNA analysis 192 The what and how 193 Organisation 193 Permissions 193 Examination and recording of the findings 195 The investigative examination 196 The identification examination 196 Detail 196 Written observations and charting 197 Recording of the findings 197 Stress 197 Legibility 197 Language 197 Errors 198 Abbreviations 198 Transcription 198 Charting 198 Clinical notes 198 Radiographic 199 Tissue thicknesses 199 Fragments and single teeth 199 Radiation safety 199 Photographic 199 Impressions 200 Age estimation 200 Condition of the remains 200 Complete body or a partial set of remains? 200 Incomplete and/or fragmented? 201 Are all the teeth and bone sections present? 201 Skeletal remains 201 Incinerated remains 201 Decomposed remains 202 Mummification 203 Immersion 203 Procedure putting it all together 203 Initial examination 203 Photographic and radiographic examination 204 Access and reflection 204 Intact skulls and mandible 204 Fragmented skulls and mandible 205 Reflection technique 205 Floor of the mouth and tongue 205 Access the maxilla and the oral cavity 206 Resection 206 Bite mark and other pattern recording 206 Reporting recording of results 207 Reports 207 Summary 208 Reference 208 7 Age assessment 209 Richard Bassed, Jeremy Graham and Jane A. Taylor Introduction 209 Some history of age assessment 211 A brief review of dental development 212 Developments in dental age assessment 214 Current age estimation methods 215 Australasian specific research in dental age estimation 217 Concluding remarks 221 References 224 8 Bite marks 228 Alex Forrest and Alistair Soon Introduction 228 Describing bite marks 229 Bite marks are physical evidence 229 Class characteristics 230 Individual characteristics 230 Anatomical locations of bite marks 231 Types of bite marks 231 Not everything is a bite mark 234 Conclusions based on the description of the injury 234 The process of biting and how it relates to bite marks 235 The individuality of the dentition and its transfer to the bite mark 236 The individuality of the human dentition 236 Accuracy of transfer of dental features to bitten tissues 237 Imaging in bite mark cases 238 Avoiding distortions due to perspective 239 Avoiding distortions due to parallax 241 Photographic lighting 241 File format for image files 245 Using alternative light sources 245 Imaging the dental casts for comparison 245 A note on the use of the ABFO No 2 bite mark scale 248 Undertaking the case 249 Case selection 250 The clinical appointments 250 Bite mark analysis 257 Bite mark comparison 266 Presenting bite mark evidence in court 273 Sources of potential distortion and error in bite mark cases 275 Distortions due to tissue properties and movement of a bitten body part 275 Distortions due to evidence collection 276 Distortions due to poor imaging 276 Potentially controllable variables 277 Potentially uncontrollable variables 277 Limitations of bite mark analysis and reporting the outcomes of bite mark comparisons 277 Can we determine the age of the biter from the injury arch dimensions? 279 Can we visually age bite marks? 280 Swabbing for DNA 280 Materials required 281 Method 281 Conclusion 281 Future directions 282 References 283 9 Forensic odontology in disaster victim identification 286 Hugh G. Trengrove Disasters and disaster planning 286 Disaster victim identification 287 DVI planning and organisation 288 DVI and forensic odontology 290 Forensic odontology DVI planning 291 DVI operations 296 DVI documentation 297 Health and safety during DVI operations 297 DVI phase 1: the Scene phase 298 The role of the forensic odontologist at the scene 299 Human remains at the scene 299 Recovery of remains 301 DVI phase 2: the Post mortem phase 310 Mortuary 311 Post mortem process 311 Personal property and effects documentation 314 Skin friction ridge analysis 314 Forensic pathology examination 314 Post mortem radiography 315 Post mortem DNA 316 Anthropology 316 Post mortem odontology examination 316 Radiology and photography 318 Teeth for DNA 319 Age assessment 320 Odontology quality review 320 Staffing in the mortuary 321 Equipment and PPE in the mortuary 321 DVI phase 3: the Ante mortem phase 323 Missing persons database (list) 323 Ante mortem data collection 323 Ante mortem skin friction ridge records 324 Ante mortem DNA 324 Ante mortem dental records 325 Ante mortem equipment 327 DVI phase 4: the Reconciliation phase 327 Skin friction ridge comparison (reconciliation) 328 DNA reconciliation 328 Odontology reconciliation 328 Detailed reconciliation 330 Formalisation of identification 331 DVI phase 5: the Debrief 331 Administrative arrangements and information management 332 DVI and the people 333 Forensic odontology team organisation 333 Responsibilities 333 References 335 10 Forensic anthropology 336 Denise Donlon, Russell Lain and Jane A. Taylor The scope of forensic anthropology 336 Assessment of ancestry 336 Importance of assessment of ancestry 337 Approaches 337 Tooth size and non metric traits 338 Assessment of sex 339 Approaches 339 Sexual dimorphism in the dentition 342 Sexual dimorphism in juveniles 342 Assessment of age 343 Methods of ageing juvenile and young adults (<30 years) 343 Ageing of middle aged to older adults (>30 years) 343 Comparative anatomy 344 Historical remains 347 Conclusion 351 References 351 11 Applied forensic sciences 355 David C. Kieser, Terry Lyn Eberhardt, Gemma Dickson and J. Neil Waddell Introduction 355 Crime scene protocols 356 Forensic entomology 358 Forensic microbial aquatic taphonomy 363 The use of energy dispersive spectroscopy in forensic investigations 369 References 375 12 Odontology opinions 377 Denice Higgins and Helen James Introduction 377 General principles 377 Types of opinions 379 Identification of dental structures 379 Injuries sustained to the teeth or other oral structures 383 Injuries caused by teeth 386 Child abuse 390 Anatomical/morphometric comparisons 391 Age estimation 393 Tooth selection and sampling for DNA 394 Oral pathology 396 Dental malpractice 396 Report writing 399 References 400 13 Forensic odontology management 402 Helen James and Denice Higgins Introduction 402 Administration 402 Education 414 Research 415 Conclusion 416 References 417 14 Application of post mortem computed tomography to forensic odontology 419 Richard Bassed and Eleanor Bott Introduction 419 Computed tomography and medico legal death investigation 421 Application of PMCT to odontology 423 Computed tomography and Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) 428 Triage of multiple deceased in DVI 429 CT and dental identification in DVI 433 Logistics and infrastructure 434 Conclusion 435 References 435 Index 438