The groundbreaking bitemark research found by Mary Bush, a forensic dentist and associate professor at University at Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine, is being featured in a Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibition.
The Forensic Science on Trial exhibition looks at “the way people influence the development, presentation and interpretation of forensic science.” It will be running from June 28 this year to June 2025.
Bush’s research refutes the fact that bitemark evidence can determine a suspect’s guilt because human dentition is not unique when it comes to bitemark analysis. A number of different suspects can have matching bitemarks yet they have been used in courtrooms and led to 26 people being wrongly convicted.
“I am thrilled that the work of my team is on display in this national exhibition,” Bush says. “We did our research diligently but quietly, never imagining it would resonate the way it has.”
