Anthropology and Odontology

Where is the crown of the tooth?

The portion of the tooth that is above the gingiva and covered with enamel.

What are dentition patterns

The pattern made by the root of the tooth.

What is odontology

The study of anatomy and growth of teeth and diseases associated with teeth and gingiva.

What is cementum.

The bone like covering that extends into the bone. It is softer than the enamel and covers the root.

What is enamel

The hard outer covering of the crown of a tooth made up of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.

What is dentin

Hardened connective tissue that makes up the majority of the tooth.

What is pulp

Softer connective tissue that composes the innermost portion of the tooth.

Serial killer convicted using bite marks

Ted Bundy.

Forensic Anthropologists

Analyze skeletal remains to determine the identity of a victim as well as his/her life history, cause of death, or other clues about a crime.

What can be collected from bone, teeth, and hair to provide clues

DNA

Questions forensic anthropologists would be able to answer after analyzing remains

- Are the remains skeletal or human?
- Is there evidence of time since death?
- What are the individualizing features?

Characteristics compared when doing bite mark analysis

- Chips
- Caps
- Fillings

Broken hyoid bone would indicate that a person died of what

Strangulation

Blunt force trauma is caused by

Club, Pushed on hard surface, Collisions, Airplane Crashes.

Forces that fracture bones

Compression, Shearing, Bending, Torsion, Tension

3 main characteristics that anthropologists determine when analyzing skeletal remains.

Sex, Age, Race

Bite Mark Evidence

1. Photograph the area with a ruler

2. Area is swabbed for traces of saliva (may contain DNA).

3. Area is swabbed for microorganism

4. Impressions of the bite mark are made.

What to do after you have the suspect.

1. Get the suspect’s permission for a body search.

2. Take saliva samples

3. Photograph teeth with a ruler in place for comparison

4. Impressions are made of their teeth.

What else can be learned from teeth

Dental erosion (vomiting too much), staining from antibiotic use when teeth were developing, staining from smoking, worn teeth from pipe smoking, worth teeth electrician stripping wires, country of origin from different dental practices.