Components of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology

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The purpose of this research is to critically analyze the various components of forensic anthropology and odontology in order to obtain an accurate understanding of the overall reliability of these disciplines. Research obtained from various sources including, textbook, peer reviewed articles and the National Academy of Sciences Report are examined in an attempt to explain how the field of forensic odontology, more specifically the discipline of bite mark analysis is not considered to be a reliable or creditable source in the criminal justice system.

Forensic Anthropology/Odontology: A Critical Analysis
There are many disciplines in forensic science. Some have been scientifically proven to be reliable while others are still facing scrutiny. One of the disciplines that have been deemed reliable is Forensic anthropology. Although some aspects of it still do not give 100% factual information, the information it does provide is an estimate. Those estimates still give investigators enough information about the skeletal remains that they can usually start moving forward in the investigation. A sub-category of anthropology is odontology. Usually these two disciplines work closely together when identifying human remains, especially if there are teeth involved. Although forensic odontology is an essential aspect in helping identify human remains, the bite mark analysis aspect can be very unreliable and varies from case to case. The inconsistency of bite mark analysis makes that area of odontology unreliable. This paper will examine how forensic anthropology is used in criminal investigations to help identify human remains. Also, it will examine odontology. Finally, it will examine the unreliability of bite mark analysis.
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...e to provinces, which can lead to questioning in the courtroom when forensic anthropology is being used as evidence. Overall, forensic anthropology is an essential discipline in the forensic community and criminal justice system.
Working closely with anthropologist, forensic odontologist are another key aspect in the forensic community. Like forensic anthropology, odontology has been around for hundreds of year and has proven to be a reliable forensic discipline. However, there is one sub-category of odontology which isn’t considered to be creditable. That is bite mark analysis. Bite mark analysis has been used in some cases which have lead to convictions, but overall it doesn’t have much creditability in the forensic community or criminal justice system. Therefore, bite mark analysis needs further research and procedures to make it more creditable and reliable.

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