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DENTALTRIBUNE Asia Pacific Edition No. 1+2/2015 Trends & Applications 23 able in its development. It has been recognised recently, how- ever, that published standards fortoothdevelopmentmaynotbe as accurate as assumed, owing to the fact that they were con- structed many decades ago and in other parts of the world, and therefore may bear little resem- blance to modern populations. Considerable work is currently underway to address this issue, with new population datasets being established around the world. Odontologists are also re- searching the ability to estimate more accurately the age of older individuals, around the adult/ childdemarcationageof18years. This is being achieved through the use of multifactorial ap- proaches, where the third molar and various other skeletal de- velopment sites are assessed together in order to arrive at an estimate(Figs.5a–c).Thisisseen as important research in light of theincreasingneedtodetermine the legal status of individuals such as asylum seekers, accused human traffickers who may be children and risk being incar- cerated in an adult prison, child soldiers, and victims of sexual assault in developing countries, all of whom are unlikely to pos- sess proof of age documentation. It has been shown that more than half of all cases of child abuse involve cranio-facial in- juries, perhaps owing in part to the significance of the face and mouth in communication and nutrition. Forensic odontologists are rarely involved in these dif - ficult cases, but despite this play an important role in injury de- scriptionandprovidinghelpwith determination of causation. All of the principles involved in cranio-facial trauma analysis for adults are applicable here, but with emphasis on the developing anatomy and different biome- chanical characteristics of the child facial skeleton. Dental malpractice and in- surance fraud investigations are increasing, partly owing to greaterpublicawarenessofwhat constitutesadentist’sdutyofcare and responsibility to patients, and partly owing to our increas- ingly litigious society. For this as- pect of practice, the odontologist requires thorough knowledge of the various pieces of legislation relating to dental practice, the professional codes of conduct, and the latest information on treatment modalities, as well as goodmedico-legalreportwriting skills. Conclusion Forensic odontology is capa- ble of providing rapid and re - latively cost-effective identifica- tion of the deceased, as long as reasonable ante-mortem dental records are available. In coun- tries such as Australia, the laws concerning medical record- keeping ensure that dental records are, in the main, of good qualityandeasilyretrievedinthe event they are required. In other countries, this may notbethecase,andidentification of the deceased in some parts of the world represents a serious and ongoing issue for govern- ments and humanitarian organi- sations. Good record-keeping is not only of benefit to forensic practitioners, but also relevant to improved health services and outcomes for patients in general, so part of the work of odontolo- gists includes educating health authorities in less developed parts of the world to encourage good record-keeping. The bene- fit of good record-keeping can be seen in recent mass fatality incidents, such as the Victorian BlackSaturdaybushfires,where, despite the availability of a well- resourced DNA capability, more than half of all victims were identified by dental record com- parison. The scope of forensic odon- tology is broader than identifi- cation alone and encompasses a range of activities, anything in fact where the practice and the- ory of dentistry intersect the law. To be a competent practitioner in this discipline requires not only a comprehensive under- standing of odontology theory and technique, but also a degree of knowledge and experience in a variety of forensic fields, in- cluding law, pathology, clinical forensic medicine, molecular biology and anthropology. The forensicodontologistencounters all of these disciplines in differ- ent case scenarios, and in order to understand how the odontol- ogist can contribute best to an investigation he or she needs to comprehend the capabilities and limitations of these fields. Editorial note: A list of references is available from the publisher. DT Dr Richard Bassed isaseniorforensic odontologist and Head of Human Identification Services at the Victorian Insti- tute of Forensic Medicine in Melbourne in Aus- tralia. He can be contacted at richard.bassed@vifm.org. Contact Info The Dental Tribune International C.E. Magazines www.dental-tribune.com Shipping address City Country Phone Fax Signature Date PayPal | subscriptions@dental-tribune.com Credit Card Credit Card Number Expiration Date Security Code €44/magazine (4 issues/year; incl. shipping and VAT for customers in Germany) and €46/magazine (4 issues/year; incl. shipping for customers outside Germany).** Your subscription will be renewed automatically every year until a written cancellation is sent to Dental Tribune International GmbH, Holbeinstr. 29, 04229 Leipzig, Germany, six weeks prior to the renewal date. 4 issues per year | * 2 issues per year *** €56/magazine (4 issues/year; incl. shipping and VAT) ** Prices for 2 issues/year are €22 and €23 respectively per year. CAD/CAM cone beam cosmetic dentistry* DT Study Club (France)*** gums* implants laser ortho prevention* roots I would like to subscribe to \ SUBSCRIBE NOW! fax: +49 341 48474 173 | e-mail: subscriptions@dental-tribune.com AD DTAP0115_21-23_Bassed 09.02.15 11:01 Seite 3 \ SUBSCRIBE NOW! fax: +4934148474173 | e-mail: subscriptions@dental-tribune.com DTAP0115_21-23_Bassed 09.02.1511:01 Seite 3