Mary Bush, DDS, a forensic dentist and associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, has published a commentary discussing the problems with bitemark analysis.
Bitemark analysis’ can be used during a trial for violent crimes where a victim has been bitten. The bitemarks are displayed next to tracing’s of the suspect’s teeth and if they match, it proves guilt. However, Bush claims bitemarks are inadequate and have been misused. Even if the bitemarks appear to be a perfect match, they could still belong to a number of suspects.
University at Buffalo reports that “Bush pointed out that 26 people have been wrongly convicted primarily because of a bitemark found on the victim. At least three of the suspects ended up on death row.”
The full commentary was published in the May 2023 issue of the Journal of the California Dental Association.
