Forensic Dentistry

# Episode Summary

In this episode, Josh and Chuck explore forensic dentistry, breaking it down into two very different categories: the reliable and widely accepted use of dental records to identify deceased victims, and the highly controversial practice of bite mark analysis that's been largely debunked as junk science. While dental identification has proven invaluable in mass casualty events and disaster situations, bite mark analysis has led to wrongful convictions of at least 26 people, despite being used confidently in courts for decades starting in the 1970s. The guys dive into the shocking failures of forensic odontologists who couldn't even agree on basic things like whether a mark was human or animal, the complete lack of scientific evidence that bite marks are unique to individuals, and how a fraudster named Michael West invented a fake technique called the "West phenomenon" that sent innocent people to prison before major reforms finally arrived in 2016.