Forensic oral dentistry: a comprehensive focus for forensic dentistry
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Forensic oral dentistry: a comprehensive focus for forensic dentistry Gabriel M. Fonseca
Accepted: 3 October 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
According to the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) (2009), forensic dentistry is the application of the science of dentistry to the field of law. It includes several distinct focuses: the identification of unknown remains, bite mark comparison, the interpretation of oral injury, and dental malpractice [1]. While this definition is versatile enough, the identification of human remains assumes a primary role in forensic dentistry. In 2009, we presented a case of suicidal intraoral gunshot [2]. Because of the atypical entry and exit wounds, microscopic analysis of the tongue was performed to confirm the intraoral entry wound. We concluded that forensic dentistry can be used for more than just the identification of human remains and we proposed the term ‘‘forensic oral pathology’’ to define the field of dentistry that involves the identification, documentation, recovery, and preservation of all signs in soft and hard oral tissues in order to make legal evidence available [2]. The skills required to interpret the significance of findings are fundamental, and interdisciplinary practice becomes essential to avoid the loss of evidence. If NAS stresses that the interpretation of oral injuries is also an objective of forensic dentistry [1], the following preliminary questions would arise: Are there oral pathological signs in violent deaths that justify the involvement of a dentist in all medico-legal autopsies? Are they trained to assume that role? I have participated in all federal G. M. Fonseca (&) Center for Applied Morphology Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of La Frontera, Avenida Francisco Salazar 01145, 4780000 Temuco, Chile e-mail: [email protected] G. M. Fonseca Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Cordoba, Co´rdoba, Argentina
medico-legal autopsies and almost 300 state medico-legal autopsies for the past 8 years in Cordoba (Argentina), assisting with forensic dentistry, evisceration, and histopathology. I manage a project entitled ‘‘Interpretation of oral injuries during medico-legal autopsies’’, a research program supported by the State Courts of Cordoba. My practice in autopsy rooms has established the value of having a dentist to detect signs that are not usually described during forensic dental procedures: determination of the position, direction, and distance of intraoral gunshots; detection of thermal injuries on tongues due to the inhalation of the heated air resulting from flash fire; interpretation of oral wounds and dental trauma in pedestrian-vehicle or car-to-car crashes by biomechanical analysis. I would like to respond to some preliminary questions: Are there sufficient oral pathological signs in violent deaths that justify the involvement of a dentist in all of the medico-legal autopsies? I believe that the signs are sufficient to involve a dentist in me
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