Oral Autopsy – Dental Surgeon’s Perspective

Abstract

Background: Autopsy is routinely performed by the coroner in all medico-legal cases but the dental expertise is rarely sought. However, oral autopsy involving careful visual examination, imaging and laboratory methods can aid in solving the enigma associated with legal aspects of crime scene and death investigation. Aim: To illustrate the importance of oral autopsy during routine post-mortem examination. Data Sources: Pub-Med, Google Scholar search engines were used to extract the data. Conclusion: Oral autopsy performed as an adjuvant to regular autopsy procedure will definitely benefit in the legal investigation related to visually identifiable, decomposed, burnt or skeletonized corpse.