FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY AND ITS PREVAILLING ADVANCEMENT

Abstract

Forensic odontology is a branch of dentistry which deals with proper handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence, with proper presentation of dental findings in the interest of justice. Tooth is the hardest tissue in the body and is most resistant to post-mortem deterioration. Dental pattern for each individual is distinct and helps in identification of victims during mass disasters, abuse and crimes.  Conventional methods used in identification are dental record maintenance, dental imaging, bite marks analysis, Cheiloscopy and Rugoscopy. In addition, recent concepts have been introduced such as facial reconstruction, denture identification, DNA profiling, tongue prints and comparison microscopy. DNA analysis is a technique which involves DNA which is either mitochondrial DNA or genomic DNA.The common methods used in DNA analysis are PCR, restrictions fragments length polymorphism method, short tandem repeats typing, etc.