Forensic odontology

Identifying victims of human trafficking has a unique set of obstacles, often compounded by language barriers or the victim’s unwillingness to work with law enforcement. Uncovering even the most basic information about victims, both alive and dead, can be a challenge. John P. Kenney, D.D.S., discussed a method for using teeth to determine the ages of unknown victims in this presentation.

Identifying victims of human trafficking has a unique set of obstacles, often compounded by language barriers or the victim’s unwillingness to work with law enforcement. Uncovering even the most basic information about victims, both alive and dead, can be a challenge. John P. Kenney, D.D.S., discussed a method for using teeth to determine the ages of unknown victims in this presentation.

This presentation introduces scoring procedures for dental morphological traits of the molars that can be employed in population affinity estimates for forensic anthropological casework. While common traits, such as shoveling and Carabelli’s trait, are briefly discussed, the focus on molar morphology promotes a greater understanding of informative, less commonly utilized traits that often preserve better in forensic case settings.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 8, 2023.