ANALYTICAL METHODS OF DENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY & FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY –AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

Dental Anthropology is a scientic discipline, which deals with studies of sexual dimorphism, paleodemography, oral evolutionary trends, paleodiet, biodistance and paleopathology through the analysis & comparison of the dentition of extinct and modern human populations by the study of Non-metric morphological variations (dental morphological features) and metric morphological trends of the dentition of human populations over time (prehistoric and modern) and space impact (ie.ethnic inuences) on them along-with their relation to the processes of adaptation and diet changes that contributed to the evolution of the current dental system and thereby the human race.(1,3,5) Teeth exhibit a wide array of variables, ranging from those largely controlled by genes to those largely dictated by environment. Anthropological questions focusing on teeth therefore, include issues of population origins and population relationships using information on (tooth morphology, size, number), diet and behavior (attrition, crown chipping, tooth-tool use), health (caries, abscesses, periodontal disease, calculus), and developmental stress (hypoplasia, asymmetry).Traits showing a wider distribution and higher frequency suggest a more ancient origin. (7) Apart from classical methods in this eld, many innovative techniques such as extraction of ancient DNA (aDNA), trace element and stable isotope analyses methods are used . Also, the analysis of development of microwear and confocal analyses of occlusal surfaces of teeth is done for documenting tooth use and masticatory function. Dental anthropologists and forensic odontologists can thus, together decipher problems associated with craniofacial identication & can also collaborate in museum model reconstructions out of skull bones for Forensic Facial Approximation.