Chapter 26 – Forensic Dentistry (Knight’s Forensic Pathology)

A comprehensive set of 150 English flashcards (question–answer format) covering key points from Chapter 26 of Knight’s Forensic Pathology (Forensic Dentistry).

What property of teeth makes them valuable in forensic identification?

They resist decomposition and heat.

Which type of crime most commonly presents with bite marks?

Sexual assault.

Typical human bite marks appear in what general shape on skin?

Horseshoe or oval.

Which post-mortem phenomenon is characterised by haemoglobin diffusing into dentinal tubules?

Pink teeth.

What causes the central bruising sometimes seen in bite marks?

Negative pressure (suction).

Which skin surface is most prone to bite-mark distortion?

Curved or elastic skin regions.

What is the first step in bite-mark documentation?

Photography with a scale.

What is the main limitation in bite-mark analysis?

Skin is a dynamic, elastic medium.

How are a suspect’s teeth compared with a bite mark?

Using overlay transparencies or digital imaging.

Which dental trait is strongly population-specific?

Shovel-shaped incisors.

What identification classification is used when dental records perfectly match post-mortem findings?

Positive identification.

Which dental charting system is most widely used internationally?

FDI two-digit system.

What is typically used to collect saliva for DNA from a bite mark?

Sterile swabs.

Which method is most useful for identification when fingerprints are unavailable?

Dental chart and radiograph comparison.

What might extensive dental restorations in remains suggest about the person?

Higher socioeconomic status.

Pink teeth are most commonly seen in which scenarios?

Drowning, carbon-monoxide poisoning, and refrigeration of the body.

In which situations may teeth be the only means of identification?

Severe fire or explosion cases.

Why are serial numbers on dentures useful to forensic dentists?

They allow tracing to antemortem dental records.

What is used to chart missing or restored teeth?

Standard dental notation systems.

Why is dental identification particularly reliable in mass disasters?

Teeth resist fire, trauma and decomposition.

What is the most common anatomical site for bite marks?

Exposed skin such as arms, face or breasts.

Which imaging technique can enhance faded or subtle bite marks?

Ultraviolet or infrared photography.

Which material is commonly used for three-dimensional bite impressions?

Dental silicone or other casting material.

What does skin elasticity cause in bite-mark interpretation?

Distortion of tooth patterns.

Which component of teeth allows them to resist high temperatures?

Their high mineral (enamel/dentine) content.

Which teeth most often show pink discolouration post-mortem?

Anterior teeth.

Tooth wear and secondary dentine deposition help estimate what parameter?

Age.

Which population shows a higher incidence of Carabelli’s cusp?

Europeans.

FDI notation "11" refers to which tooth?

Upper right permanent central incisor.

Bite-mark evidence is best classified as what type of courtroom evidence?

Supportive or corroborative evidence.

What factor most increases the chance of successful post-mortem dental identification?

Availability of antemortem dental records.

Which radiographic views are especially useful for identification?

Periapical or panoramic radiographs.

What factor may limit the usefulness of radiograph comparison?

Differences in body or film positioning.

What is the main cause of forensic error in bite-mark cases?

Subjectivity and lack of reproducibility.

Which bite-mark feature may only become visible several hours after injury?

Bruising.

Which organised team is often involved in disaster-victim dental identification?

DVI or DMORT teams.

Which dental feature can help assess biological sex?

Relative crown size and jaw dimensions.

How are prosthetic serial numbers traced?

Through dental laboratories or clinical records.

Why do refrigerated bodies sometimes show pink teeth?

Blood is forced into dentine under cold-storage pressure.

Why might forensic dentists avoid making conclusions from bite marks alone?

High error risk and court controversy.

What tool helps visualise early healing in bite marks?

Infrared or ultraviolet photography.

Dental charting typically includes what findings?

Caries, restorations, fractures, prosthetics.

Which dental-notation system uses bracket symbols?

Palmer notation.

Dental records may be used to estimate which aspect of identity besides age and sex?

Ancestry or ethnicity.

Which dental structure is examined radiographically to identify root-canal work?

Root morphology and filling pattern.

What can cause post-mortem damage to restorations?

Exposure to heat and trauma.

What is the forensic role of secondary dentine deposition?

Helps in adult age estimation.

Which forensic discipline is primarily responsible for bite-mark comparison?

Forensic odontology.

Why can post-mortem charting be difficult?

Fractured or missing teeth and tissue slippage.

How should dental evidence be stored after recovery?

Cleaned, dried, labelled and fully documented.

List three reasons why teeth are valuable in forensic identification.

They withstand decomposition, fire and trauma; dental patterns are unique; antemortem records are commonly available.

What are the typical visible features of a human bite mark on skin?

Oval/horseshoe shape, distinct incisor or canine impressions, and central bruising from suction.

Outline the process of documenting a bite mark on a living victim.

Photograph with scale, swab for saliva DNA, record colour/location, take 3-D impression if required, and repeat photography over 24-48 hours.

Name two systems used for charting dentition and briefly describe each.

FDI (two-digit code: quadrant + tooth number) and Palmer notation (brackets with numbers/letters per quadrant).

What causes post-mortem pink coloration of teeth and when is it most often seen?

Haemoglobin diffusion into dentinal tubules; common in drowning, CO poisoning and refrigeration.

Give two factors that may distort a bite mark.

Elasticity/curvature of skin and victim movement during biting.

List the investigative steps for a bite mark on a deceased body.

Scaled photographs, UV/IR imaging if faint, saliva swab, 3-D impression, and detailed recording of injury characteristics.

State three kinds of information that can be obtained from teeth when no dental records are available.

Age estimation, sex estimation and ancestry indicators; restorations suggest socioeconomic status.

Summarise how a forensic odontologist matches a bite mark to a suspect.

Take dental impressions, prepare overlays or digital images, measure tooth widths/spacing, and compare with the injury pattern.

Provide two reasons bite-mark evidence is controversial.

Skin distortion lowers reproducibility and past wrongful convictions due to misinterpretation.

Name two techniques that enhance visualisation of subtle bite marks.

Ultraviolet photography and infrared imaging.

List four features compared between antemortem and post-mortem dental records.

Number/position of teeth, restorations, root-canal shape, prosthetics or anomalies.

How can ethnicity be inferred from dental traits?

Shovel-shaped incisors in Asians, Carabelli’s cusp in Europeans, and population-specific molar patterns.

Explain how dental wear helps with adult age estimation.

Degree of enamel wear, secondary dentine deposition and root transparency increase with age.

Describe two ways dental records assist in mass-disaster victim identification.

Teeth survive conditions that destroy soft tissue, and charts/radiographs allow rapid positive matches.

What constitutes a ‘positive identification’ in forensic dentistry?

A unique, inconsistency-free match between post-mortem findings and antemortem records.

How is DNA collected from a bite-mark injury?

By swabbing the site for saliva before any cleaning.

Give three limitations of forensic dental radiographs.

Heat-damaged restorations, post-mortem alignment differences and absence of matching antemortem films.

What can extensive dental restorations reveal about a decedent?

Their prior access to dental care and socioeconomic background.

List three scenarios where teeth may be the only means of identification.

Fires, mass disasters and advanced decomposition or skeletonisation.

What is an overlay transparency in bite-mark analysis?

A traced or printed representation of a suspect’s dentition used for comparison with the bite mark.

Briefly describe the Universal Numbering System.

Permanent teeth numbered 1–32, starting at the upper right third molar and moving clockwise.

State three dental features that are especially useful in comparative radiographs.

Unique root-canal shape, crown size and restoration configuration.

Name two prosthetic dental identifiers that assist in identification.

Dentures engraved with serial numbers and dental implants with manufacturer codes.

List four factors that affect the accuracy of bite-mark comparison.

Skin elasticity, time since injury, victim or assailant movement, and quality of documentation.

Give three key elements recorded during dental charting.

Missing teeth, presence of caries and details of restorations/prostheses.

Identify three circumstances most commonly associated with pink teeth findings.

Drowning, carbon-monoxide poisoning and refrigerated storage of the body.

How is dental evidence preserved after autopsy?

Gently cleaned, photographed, charted, stored dry and labelled with chain-of-custody documentation.

What are the four recognised levels of dental identification?

Positive, probable, possible and insufficient evidence.

Why must bite-mark evidence be collected promptly?

Marks can fade or distort and bruising evolves over several hours.

Discuss the role of forensic odontology in post-mortem identification.

Teeth survive harsh conditions; dentists compare post-mortem patterns with antemortem records (charts, X-rays, prosthetics) to achieve positive identification, vital in fires, explosions and mass disasters.

Explain the scientific and medico-legal challenges in bite-mark analysis.

Skin distortion, lack of standard criteria, subjective interpretation and documented wrongful convictions require corroborating evidence such as saliva DNA.

Describe the complete procedure for investigating a bite mark.

Scaled photography, saliva swabbing, 3-D impression, UV/IR enhancement, time-sequenced photos and odontologist comparison.

How are a suspect’s teeth compared to a bite-mark injury?

Dental casts are made, overlays or digital superimpositions produced, and tooth widths/rotations assessed; DNA evidence can support findings.

Explain how teeth are used to identify victims in mass disasters.

Antemortem records are compared with resilient dental remains; radiographs reveal restorations and prosthetics; serial numbers on dentures aid rapid, cost-effective identification.

Describe how dental traits help construct a biological profile.

Age (eruption or wear), sex (tooth size/jaw shape), ancestry (morphological traits) and socioeconomic cues from restorations contribute to profiling.

Summarise the forensic significance of pink teeth.

Indicates post-mortem haemoglobin diffusion, often linked to drowning, CO poisoning or refrigeration; mainly observed in anterior teeth and offers contextual clues.

Outline three common dental-notation systems and their forensic application.

FDI (quadrant + tooth number), Palmer (brackets + numbers/letters) and Universal (1–32); all support precise post-mortem charting and comparison.

How are human bite marks distinguished from other patterned injuries?

Characteristic oval shape, human arch width, incisor/canine impressions and central suction bruising, unlike animal or tool marks; saliva DNA confirms human origin.

Detail key documentation steps for a bite mark on a deceased individual.

Immediate scaled photos, UV/IR imaging, saliva swab, silicone impression if 3-D and notation of size, colour and tissue condition.

How is age estimated from teeth in children versus adults?

Children: eruption and calcification timelines; Adults: wear, secondary dentine and root transparency.

Describe how dental radiographs assist in identification.

Show unique internal features like root-canal shapes and restoration depths; post-mortem films matched with antemortem images for reliable identification.

List four limitations of using bite-mark evidence in court.

Skin distortion, inter-expert variability, lack of validation studies and past wrongful convictions.

Explain how serial numbers on dental prosthetics aid identification.

Engraved codes trace dentures or implants to labs/patient records, enabling rapid positive identification.

Discuss how forensic odontologists contribute during mass-disaster operations.

They form DVI teams, collect/compare dental records, and provide quick, accurate identifications when other methods fail.

Name four challenges encountered during post-mortem dental examination.

Fractured or missing teeth, soft-tissue desiccation, heat-damaged restorations and absent dental records.

How is ancestry estimated using dental morphology?

Population-specific features (e.g., shovel incisors, Carabelli cusp, molar cusp patterns) combined with skeletal indicators.

List five steps for preserving dental evidence post-mortem.

Gently clean, photograph, take impressions/X-rays, label and store dry in a cool area with full documentation.

What is the role of forensic odontologists when testifying in court?

Serve as expert witnesses, present dental/bite-mark evidence, explain methods and limitations, and support multidisciplinary findings.

State two major strengths and two weaknesses of dental identification.

Strengths: teeth are durable and unique; rapid, cost-effective in disasters. Weaknesses: need antemortem records; restorations can be lost or damaged.