Structure of Teeth
What is the hardest substance in the body?
Dentin
What is the shaft of the bone called?
Diaphysis
What are the ONLY two bones that can be definitively used to identify gender of the victim?
Skull and pelvis
True or false? Teeth are one of the most useful ways to identify a body.
True!
How might you tell is a person is right or left handed?
-MSMs
-Bone Density
How many teeth do you have, if you have all of your wisdom teeth?
32
What is the growth plate of the long bone called, and what does it do? (be specific!)
Metaphysis - it expands and ossificates as the bone grows.
How can bone damage help identify a victim?
-Comparison with previous xrays
-Unique injuries can result in unique bone damage
What are two situations in which Forensic Odontology might be used?
-Missing Person identification
-Dental Malpractice
-Mass disaster identification
-Bite Mark Analysis
What are sutures? What do they help us determine?
The lines on the skull between skull plates that slowly fuse.
They help us determine the age of the individual.
Explain how teeth can help identify the age of a young person.
-Milk buds
-Baby teeth
-Emergence of permanent teeth
Name blood components that are made in the bone.
RBCs
lymphocytes
platelets
What do the following words mean?
Perimortem
Postmortem
Premortem
Perimortem - During the death process
Postmortem - After death
Premortem - Before death
What part of the tooth can you see above the gum?
Crown
How many bones does an adult have? How many bones does a baby have?
Adult: 206
Baby: 300+
What are the four types of teeth?
Molars, incisors, premolars, canines
What is ossification?
The process by which cartilage turns into actual bone.
Name three things that you'd most likely see in the bones of someone over the age of 50.
-Shortened Stature
-Arthritis
-Bone discoloration
-Change in bone texture
-Completely fused cranial sutures
-Dental wear/damage
Using a computer program called OdontoSearch, or though comparison of physical bitemarks.
What prolific serial killer was partly sentenced to death due to bite mark identification?
Ted Bundy
What tooth numbers (using Universal Tooth Identification) are your front teeth?
8 and 9
What do the bones store? Why do they store those things?
Calcium phosphate: to ensure that you don't die from lack of calcium. Remember, nerves and lots of other body processes can't function without calcium
Heavy metals: Stores them and releases slowly as the body can handle it without damage
Bone marrow: to make blood and store vitamins
Name the three racial classes of skull and one defining feature of each.
Mongoloid
Negroid
Caucasoid
Name three dental characteristics that might be helpful when making a missing person identification.
-Missing teeth
-Overbite/underbite
-Placement and size of fillings
-Teeth spacing
-Orthodontic work
-Implants, such as bridges or permanent false teeth
(And lots more!)
Name three things about someone's lifestyle that can be identified by bones.
LOTS! But here are some examples:
-How often people work out
-Nutrition
-Smoking or nonsmoking
-Amount of physical labor (different from working out, because it usually shows damage vs. large MSMs)