Method: A prospective audit was undertaken on 1010 adult patients attending for dental treatment. The sample included regular and irregular attenders. Patients were examined for the presence of the upper and lower incisors and canines. Missing teeth replaced with denture teeth were recorded. Bridge pontics were included in the dentate data, as these could leave their mark in a bite.
Results: 812 (80%) of the patients were dentate (6 upper and lower anterior teeth present including pontics) and 198 (20%) were partially dentate (including partial denture teeth). 84 of the patients who were partially dentate did not have teeth replaced with a denture; 23 had no spacing because the gap was closed. Therefore 61 had missing teeth with an open gap. This group form 6% of the whole study sample (n=1010). Upper central and lateral incisors were the most common teeth to be missing, followed by upper canines and lower central incisors. Lower lateral incisors and lower canines were the least common teeth to be absent. Lower teeth were less likely to be missing than upper teeth. Tooth loss was commoner in males than females but was proportional to increasing age in both sexes.
Conclusions: Individuals with a gap left by a missing tooth not replaced with a denture tooth comprised a small number of individuals in this sample (6%). It seems justified to use this data as a potential discriminating feature for identification in criminal casework.