Computer Comparison of Bitemark Patterns in Identical Twins

Identification of a person with the help of bite mark analysis

“…14 The scientific basis of bite mark analysis is rooted in the premise of individuality of human dentition, the belief that no two humans have identical dentitions in regard to size, shape and alignment of teeth. 13,17 The investigators dealing with analysis of bite marks should also have the knowledge of any mark or bruise which have characteristics which closely resemble the injuries produced by teeth as determination of an injury being produced by human teeth requires substantial information.…”

“…13,17 The investigators dealing with analysis of bite marks should also have the knowledge of any mark or bruise which have characteristics which closely resemble the injuries produced by teeth as determination of an injury being produced by human teeth requires substantial information. 12,18 Tooth markings may also be found on foods like chocolates, vegetables, chewing gums, Styrofoam cups, cigarette but and even on steering wheel of a car, 14,19 Bermitz et al and Pretty et al even reported a case of a murder in which the bite marks in a piece of cheese was recorded. 15 Bite marks left in substances which are malleable like cheese have a more potential for accurate identification.…”

“…12,13 This would therefore rule out the possibility of two adults having exactly the identical dentition. 14 And hence the theory of uniqueness is a strong point used in the analysis of bite marks to convince the court of law that a dentition in one individual is different from other human dentition. 15 This uniqueness is displaced vividly in a bite mark that is well executed.…”

The barriers to achieving an evidence base for bitemark analysis

“…The next study to consider dental uniqueness in terms of human bitemarks was that of Sognnaes et al [46] who examined five pairs of monozygotic (identical) twins. Each twin underwent alginate dental impressions and epoxy-resin casts were made from the subsequent models.…”

Assessment of dentofacial variations in monozygotic twins

“…An--other study on dental arch forms and the structure of individual teeth of several monozygotic twin pairs showed that twins are not necessarily always occlusally iden--tical [4]. An analysis on 42 pairs of twins found hereditary factors to be responsible for only 40% of the total skeletal and dental features that caused malocclusion with the genetic component being more of a determining factor for skeletal features than dental features [3].…”