Manual techniques for bite mark investigation in Indian setup

The teeth are a significant component of our natural arsenal. Biting is a primitive type of assault often used as a weapon of last resort. Human bites are routinely related to aggressive or sexual behavior sometimes, the victim may bite the perpetrator as a form of self-defense. In children, biting is a form of expression when verbal communication fails. Even though bite marks of an individual do have uniqueness due to specific characteristics and arrangement of the teeth, while it comes to bite mark analysis, it is complicated by numerous factors, being presented as a challenge to the Forensic Odontologist.

This article aims to enlighten the medical and dental practitioners with simple efficient techniques that can give approximate results. There are a number of different ways to produce overlays from a suspect's dentition, manual as well as computer generated and these are then compared with various techniques. In this review authors focus on manual techniques that can be done simply in any kind of medical or dental setup. These techniques are not only economical but also easy. This article throws light on the fact that mentioned techniques can be performed by any clinician in need of attention, until forensic expert is available.