406 Forensic dentistry
other patterned marks to the teeth that may have created them, and teach
and participate in the recognition of and intervention in cases of abuse.
Many participate in the investigations into illegal civil and criminal activity
involving the practice of dentistry, and they testify in court about their
expert findings in those cases. Many also testify in criminal cases involving
identification, age estimation, bitemarks, and abuse. The opportunities for
continued and expanded activity in the future for forensic dentistry are at
hand. However, those opportunities are not without cost. They arrive with
increased responsibilities that must be accepted by modern forensic odon-
tologists that include a commitment to the highest standards.
18.2 Research and Technology
Although research into the bases for and techniques used by forensic dentists
has been accomplished, except for in the area of age estimation, the volume of
research, and especially the volume of significant research, is seriously lack-
ing. The path to the future for forensic dentistry must include a more rigorous
program of research. Forensic odontologists must become better scientists.
The technological advances in dentistry offer opportunity for contemporane-
ous advances in forensic dentistry. The use of three- dimensional radiography
has grown exponentially and is rich with possibilities for expanded modes
of identification. More discriminate and reliable methods of age estimation
are currently being researched and developed. More are needed. Significant
efforts are under way to develop and implement improved methods to
decrease the numbers of unidentified bodies and to simultaneously lower the
number of names on lists of missing persons, as many of these are the same
people. These activities are long overdue but thankfully, at last, under way.
In no area of forensic dentistry is research more greatly needed than
in the area of bitemark recognition, analysis, and comparison. All serious
forensic odontologists must dedicate t hemselves to encouraging, suppor ting,
and performing research into the bases for bitemark evidence analysis and
comparison. The mistakes made in bitemark cases in recent history must be
a wakeup call for all forensic dentists. The reluctance to consult, to utilize
other forensic odontologists in the review of bitemark cases, must be dis-
carded in an effort to prevent the problems that have occurred in past cases.
Individuals convicted of serious crimes have endured prolonged prison
time after erroneous and unsupported “scientific” opinions were reviewed
and brought back to courts with drastic results. Science, realistic protocol,
and peer review must replace the confirmation of others’ theories of crimes
using unsupported and questionable analyses. Odontologists must be advo-
cates for the truth and use the most current scientific methods available. The
art and science of bitemark analysis must be performed in a more scientific