Knowlegde and Responsibilities of Dental Practitioner Regarding Forensic Odontology: An Overview

Dentistry has much to offer law enforcement in the detection and solution of crime or in civil proceedings. Forensic Odontology though a known but is relatively unexplored science that utilizes the dentist's knowledge to serve the judicial system. Most often the role of the forensic odontologist is to establish a person's identity, for which other clues of biometric identification (e.g., fingerprint, face, etc.) may not be available in case of mass disaster or after an accident or a victim of homicide etc. The teeth may also be used as weapons and under certain circumstances, may leave information about the identity of the biter. Forensic odontology has an important role in the recognition of abuse among persons of all ages. Dental professionals have a major responsibility to play in keeping accurate dental records and providing all necessary information so that legal authorities may recognize malpractice, negligence, fraud or abuse, and identify unknown humans.