Tools of UB Dental Professor's Bitemark Research Included in Smithsonian Exhibition.

The article focuses on Dr. Mary Bush, a forensic dentist and associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, whose research challenges the reliability of bitemark evidence in criminal trials. Tools from her work, including dental models and testing apparatuses, are featured in the Smithsonian's "Forensic Science on Trial" exhibition, which examines the evolution and interpretation of forensic science over 150 years. Dr. Bush's research highlights that human dentition is not unique enough for definitive bitemark identification, noting that such evidence has contributed to wrongful convictions, including death row cases. The exhibition also contextualizes forensic methods alongside media influences on public perception of forensic evidence.