{"id":1242,"date":"2013-07-17T21:46:59","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T21:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mikemalonedds.com\/blog1\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2019-08-27T20:15:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:15:36","slug":"bite-mark-analysis-the-unreliable-form-of-dental-forensics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.camelliadds.com\/blog1\/bite-mark-analysis-the-unreliable-form-of-dental-forensics\/","title":{"rendered":"Bite Mark Analysis: The Unreliable Form of Dental Forensics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Associated Press released a story<\/a> last month that revealed the appalling history behind a branch of forensic dentistry called \u2018bike mark analysis.\u2018\u00a0 The idea behind the method is that bite marks are like fingerprints and can be traced back to individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn analyst will study a bite, match it back to a particular set of teeth, and testify that those were the only teeth in the whole wide world that could\u2019ve delivered that particular bite.\u201d —Slate.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The shocking truth behind this sketchy practice is that more than 24 men have been charged with serious allegations from murder to rape since 2000 based on falsely interpreted human bite marks.\u00a0 Though these men have been released from prison since, many of them were incarcerated for long periods of time — even decades.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the practice of \u2018bite mark analysis\u2019 in determining evidence in a criminal case may be eliminated soon depending upon a New York judge\u2019s ruling.\u00a0 The fact is, a small group of forensic dentists are conducting bite mark analyses on these victims, and their conclusions become the determining factor in many cases.\u00a0 But \u201cthere is no scientific proof that teeth can be matched definitively to a bite into human skin,\u201d stated in the AP article.<\/p>\n

The American Dental Association does not recognize the practice of \u2018bite mark analysis\u2019 at all.\u00a0 For the FBI, DNA testing is more reliable and carries heavier weight.\u00a0 In fact, the FBI doesn\u2019t use the method at all.\u00a0 Supporters of bite mark analysis however argue that\u00a0 child murderers have been convicted using this method, as well as infamous serial killer Ted Bundy.<\/p>\n

Bite mark analysis became famous with Ted Bundy, who killed dozens of females between 1973 and 1978.\u00a0 Finally Bundy was arrested in Florida.\u00a0 A dentist from Coral Cables took photographs of his upper and lower teeth and gums, noting their uneven pattern.\u00a0 Later on, photographs of Lisa Levy\u2019s corpse ( one of Bundy\u2019s last victims) revealed a unique bite mark on her buttock.\u00a0 In conjunction with one eyewitness testimony, the bite mark analysis<\/a> was used to convict Bundy and sentence him to the electric chair.\u00a0 People across the country were relieved, and we had bite mark analysis to be thankful for.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s still the matter of the over two dozen people who had been falsely accused of crimes based on bite mark analysis evidence.\u00a0 One of these people was Ray Krone, who was convicted of killing a Phoenix bartender and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.\u00a0 He became nick-named the \u2018Snaggle-Tooth Killer\u2019 when his supposed bite marks were found on a styrofoam cup matching the bite marks left on the victim\u2019s body.\u00a0 Krone was convicted in 1992 and won a re-trial in 1996 where he was convicted based upon the evidence found by an expert \u2018bite mark analyst.\u2019\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until 2002 until Krone was released.\u00a0 DNA testing had proved the saliva and blood at the scene of the crime did not match Krone\u2019s but that of a convicted rapist.<\/p>\n

There are countless others:\u00a0 Willie Jackson in Louisiana was wrongly incarcerated for 16 long years after being falsely accused of rape.\u00a0 Calvin Washington in Texas was falsely accused of murder and imprisoned for 13 years before DNA testing revealed his innocence. James O\u2019Donnell in New York was wrongly incarcerated for sodomy for two years before the DNA testing results were released.\u00a0 And Dan Young in Illinois spent 12 years in prison before he was released on a false charge of murder.<\/p>\n

I think we can all agree on this much: that bite mark analysis has proved unreliable.\u00a0 What needs to be realized is that because a famous case like that of Ted Bundy\u2019s was resolved using this method of forensic dentistry does not mean it should be used in every instance when the innocence or guilt of a person is being determined.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dr. Mike Malone<\/a>\u00a0and his\u00a0team<\/a>\u00a0practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the\u00a0American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry<\/a>. He\u00a0is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n

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The Associated Press released a story last month that revealed the appalling history behind a branch of forensic dentistry called \u2018bike mark analysis.\u2018\u00a0 The idea behind the method is that  Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":1243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[327],"tags":[387,388,386,328,26,385,389,390,384],"class_list":{"0":"post-1242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dentistry","8":"tag-bite-mark-analysis","9":"tag-criminal","10":"tag-dental-forensics","11":"tag-dentistry-2","12":"tag-dr-mike-malone","13":"tag-forensic-evidence","14":"tag-incarceration","15":"tag-serial-killer","16":"tag-ted-bundy","17":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nBite Mark Analysis: The Unreliable Form of Dental Forensics - 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