A perspective on bitemark analysis: from empiricism to scientific rationality

Abstract

Among the numerous missions realized by the forensic odontologist, the morpho-analysis of a human bitemark, both on an alive or dead victim, plays a relevant role since the identification not only affects the victim but also concerns the perpetrator. This analysis requires the forensic odontologist to compare the bitemark left on a victim's skin with teeth that leave a dental impression of the assumed perpetrator of the crime. For over a century, many experts have been working to make bitemark analysis more reliable and improve dental impression recording. Despite these efforts, current bitemark analysis was recently challenged by the U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) report, which considers that it does not meet the required scientific standards.