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Influence of the amount of saliva deposition and time elapsed after deposition on bite mark analysis

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Abstract

Bite mark analysis is among the most interesting research fields in forensic odontology; however, it is limited by its dependence on the employed method as well as assessor subjectivity, particularly when using morphological analysis or DNA profiling. These limitations are due to differences in DNA collected from saliva adhering to a living or inanimate body, as well as differences in exocrine fluid secretion and deposition amount among individuals. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of DNA profiling when there are differences in the amount of saliva adhering to a living body and when time has elapsed since deposition. Most allele peaks could be identified in 1 µl of saliva, even 9 h after saliva deposition and examination. Consistent results were obtained following saliva deposition in an individual who had engaged in up to 9 h of free activity. The results of this study demonstrate the validity and reliability of DNA profiling for bite mark analysis and are extremely important as they can demonstrate the usefulness of the little information left by a suspect on a victim’s body.

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Data, materials, and/or code availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research work was funded by the institutional financial resources.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Odontology and Anthropology, Tokyo Dental College, 2-9-18 Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 101-0061, Japan

    Noboru Ishikawa, Yasutaka Nakamura, Yuna Miura & Masatsugu Hashimoto

  2. Department of Critical Care Medicine and Dentistry, Division of Anesthesiology, Kanagawa Dental University, 1-23 Ogawacho Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa, 238-8580, Japan

    Hidetaka Kuroda

  3. Department of Histology and Developmental Biology, Tokyo Dental College, 2-9-18 Kanda-Misakicho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 101-0061, Japan

    Kei Kitamura

Authors
  1. Noboru Ishikawa
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  2. Yasutaka Nakamura
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  3. Yuna Miura
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  4. Hidetaka Kuroda
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  5. Kei Kitamura
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  6. Masatsugu Hashimoto
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Contributions

NI conceived the presented study. YN and HK verified the efficient question method and contents. YM, KK, and HK verified the results and took the lead in writing the manuscript. NI encouraged MH to investigate and supervise the findings of this task. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasutaka Nakamura.

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Ethical approval

The study protocol complied with the codes of ethical practice of the Tokyo Dental College, and all study procedures and use of human samples were approved by the medical and ethical committee of the Tokyo Dental College (approval number: 866).

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Informed consent has been obtained from all individuals included in this study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ishikawa, N., Nakamura, Y., Miura, Y. et al. Influence of the amount of saliva deposition and time elapsed after deposition on bite mark analysis. Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00742-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00742-y

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