Assessment of dental injuries by forensic odontology experts from the Legal Medicine Institute, Brazil
Keywords:
forensic odontology, tooth, wounds and injuries, expert testimony.Abstract
Introduction: Article 129 of the Brazilian Penal Code defines the crime of bodily harm as damage to the physical integrity or the health of others. Penalties for this crime are graded in keeping with the consequences of the injury, determined by forensic examination indicated by the corresponding authority. Dental injuries are common in this type of examination, and analysis of results based on the Brazilian Penal Code is the object of frequent debate among forensic experts, with many divergences between the various examiners.
Objective: Analyze the penal interpretation of injuries to upper front teeth provided by official forensic odontology experts from Nina Rodrigues Forensic Institute (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil).
Methods: Analysis was conducted of 2 738 expert reports issued in the five-year period extending from January 2007 to December 2011. The inclusion criterion was description of injury to permanent upper front teeth, whereas the exclusion criterion was lack of certainty as to the consequences of the injury specified. Data were gathered by a single individual, who had access to the reports. The dental injuries described in the reports were classified and encoded to facilitate annotation and the performance of statistical studies based on chi-square estimation and the kappa test (R software version 2.15.2, R Core Development Team, 2012) (p≥ 0.05).
Results: Of the 2 738 reports, 277 met the inclusion criterion. Of the injuries described therein, 32.16 % were classified as simple dental crown fractures, 31.72 % as complex fractures, and 36.12 % as avulsions. Results show the close relationship between forensic experts and criminal investigators in the analysis of dental injuries.
Conclusions: Penal assessment of dental injuries was markedly subjective, requiring further study and discussion to minimize such subjectivity.
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