Forensic Odontology Time Line

Dental evidence and dentures found in an Egyptian tomb where two molars were linked together with gold wire [Ref. 33, p. 27].

Nero's mistress and his mother kill a third woman considered to be a threat. Before payment was made for the murder, proof made by identifying two discolored front teeth identifying the victim [Ref. 22, p. 85].

England - William the Conqueror possessed an unusual malocclusion, signed the official seal of England by biting the wax [Ref. 1, p. 281].

England - The body of Charles the Duke of Burgundy was identified after his death by the absence of some anterior teeth [Ref. 1, p. 281].

Pierre Fauchard publishes treatise on dental treatment [Ref. 3, p. 183].

General Warren died at the battle of Bunker Hill. His body is disinterred by Paul Revere, confirming the presence of a silver wire and an ivory bridge replacing an upper canine tooth. As Revere was a dentist and this was the first example of a forensic dental identification [Ref. 33, p. 85].

Goethe, poet and naturalist, first to report a case of ectopic eruption of a tooth into the nasal cavity [Ref. 31, p. 8].

Scotland - A denture was found an inserted into the corpse snatched from a grave by medical students. Initially it was argued the dentures fit the toothless maxilla of the body, but later it was shown that in fact it did not fit properly. It was believe that the corpse was replaced [Ref. 1, p. 281].

Thomas Bell observed the dentine of teeth of hanging or drowning victims being a deep red color with the enamel area untouched [Ref. 32, p. 46].

Edmond Sanders prove to British Parliament regarding child labor that teeth were a better guide to a child's age than height [Ref. 33, p. 27].

Prof. J.W. Webster was accused of murdering Dr. George Parkman, M.D. The body had been dismembered and the head burned in a furnace, however, blocks of porcelain teeth were found in the ashes. Dr. Parkman's dentist recognized the dentures as one he had made for the victim. Eventually Webster confessed and was hung [Ref. 32, p. 3-4]. The case of John White Webster provided the U.S. with its first murder conviction based on dental evidence [Ref. 18, p. 3].

Godon (Paris) recommended the use of teeth in the identification of missing persons provided accurate dental records existed [Ref. 32, p. 4].

The charred bodies of several French nobles were identified to nobility by their teeth, which were well cared for [Ref. 24, p. 41].

Ramel and Adachi report pigment in dentrite cells that possibly was related to hair color. This lead to other studies comparing race with tooth morphology [Ref. 32, p. 37].

England - Bite mark evidence was first used in a court of law to convict two burglars from teeth marks found in cheese at the scene [Ref. 1, p. 281].

Following a fire at the German Embassy in Santiago, a man was found stabbed and unrecognizable. Originally it was believed to be the German Secretary. Guilt was placed on the embassy servant who was missing. Dental identification established that in fact it was the embassy servant who had been stabbed. The Germany Secretary was found guilty [Ref. 32, p. 5].

Recommendations from Latin-American Odontology Federation that countries include dental records in identity documents [Ref. 32, p. 16].

68 packages of dismembered parts of two women were found. It was possible to differentiate the age of the women from their teeth and to superimpose photographs of the teeth of the two women onto skulls. Ths lead to the conviction of Dr. Ruxton for the murders of his wife and housekeeper [Ref. 32, p. 4].

Barnum and Bailey Circus tent fire where 162 of 268 bodies identified by dental records [Ref. 33, p. 29].

Prof Keith Simpson is believe to have launched the science of bite-mark analysis (odontology) when he examined bite-marks on the breast of dead woman. He argued that the marks were, in his opinion, distinctive and it might be possible to match them to dental records [Ref. 1, p. 66].

Simpson published in the Medico-Legal Review comparing dental data as comprising the same detail as fingerprinting [Ref. 1, p. 282].

Two leading forensic odontologists, Dr. Lowell Levine and Dr. Lester Luntz square off in the People v. Milone trial. Milone was found guilty based on a match of a bite mark on the victim's leg [Ref. 1, p. 282].

Bite mark evidence is key evidence in convicting serial killer Theodore "Ted" Bundy [Ref. 1, p. 282].

Guyana - Computers analysis of dental identification data used for dental identification of 913 victims of mass suicide at Jonestown [Ref. 1, p. 282].

Lee Harvey Oswald's body is disinterred and his identity confirmed from military dental records [Ref. 1, p. 282].