Membership in the Forensic Odontology Section
Odontology Section members are engaged in practice, education, and research of forensic dentistry (odontology). The main role of the forensic odontologist is to identify human remains. However, they also may be involved with assessment of a person's age, patterned injuries, or abuse and neglect cases.
Odontology Membership Requirements
*Applicants should understand which requirements they have to meet to determine which entry level status they may join.
The AAFS has been very helpful to me in both personal and professional ways. When I first became interested in forensic dentistry, the AAFS and the ASFO were the two organizations that were suggested as everyone is welcome to their meetings. The AAFS meetings were for me a wonderful exposure to education and the people who have become my colleagues and friends. Membership in the AAFS is staged, as they are mindful that for people just starting out in forensics, it can be difficult to get experience. The levels of membership requirements point you in the right direction of what you should do next. The Annual Scientific Meetings keep us up to date, exposes us to new ideas and provide a place for the camaraderie of peers with similar interests. I am grateful to the AAFS for being an important part of the foundation of the education and the organization of the forensic sciences.
- Denise C. Murmann, DDSSection Leadership
Hear from a Forensic Odontologist
Forensic dentistry (odontology) is a vital branch of forensic science that involves the application of dental knowledge, primarily for the identification of human remains. The forensic dentist's work includes, the comparison of remains with dental records, the comparison with dental records, the evaluation of patterned injuries, the comparison with suspect dentitions, the aging of individuals by the dentition to determine chronological age both in the living and in the deceased, the evaluation of an individual's dental/oral injuries to resolve civil (compensation, etc.) or criminal matters (assault, etc.) and, resolving dental malpractice or negligence issues.
Recent Odontology Section News
All AAFS Sections
AAFS is organized into 12 sections that encompass many forensic science disciplines. AAFS is honored to have more than 6,500 members from around the globe.