THE INITIAL CHAPTER OF THE TEXT INTRODUCES THE READER TO THE FORENSIC SCIENCES, FORENSIC PATHOLOGY AND THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF DENTISTRY WITH THESE DISCIPLINES. CHAPTER II, SPECIFICALLY INCLUDED FOR THE NONDENTIST READER, PRESENTS THE BASIC ANATOMY AND NOMENCLATURE OF THE TEETH AND THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DENTISTRY AND ITS MATERIALS. THE THIRD CHAPTER CONCERNS THE PANORAMIC FORMAT OF MEDICOLEGAL IDENTIFICATION AND THE INTEGRATED ROLE OF DENTAL IDENTIFICATION. CHAPTER IV PROVIDES A SURVEY OF DENTAL IDENTIFICATION AS IT RELATES TO THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT. INCLUDED IS A SUMMARIZATION OF METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS AS REPORTED BY NUMEROUS INVESTIGATORS WORLDWIDE. 'BASIC CONCEPTS OF DENTAL IDENTIFICATION: THE ANTEMORTEM DATA', CHAPTER V, DISCUSSES THE VALIDITY OF THE USE OF THE TEETH AS A SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF BODY IDENTIFICATION. THE COMPONENTS OF THE ANTEMORTEM DATA NECESSARY FOR THE DENTAL COMPARISON ARE ALSO INTRODUCED. CHAPTER VI ELUCIDATES THE PROCEDURAL AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE POSTMORTEM DENTAL EXAMINATION, INCLUDING RADIOGRAPHY. INCLUDED IS THE EXAMINATION EQUIPMENT, THE CHARTING PROCEDURES AND THE APPROACH TO THE MASS DISASTER SITUATION. 'THE POSTMORTEM DENTAL DATA', AS DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER VII, PRESENTS THE COMMON PARAMETERS UTILIZED IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE DENTAL IDENTIFICATION. THE CHAPTER IS RICHLY FORTIFIED WITH ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL TO CONVEY THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. A DISCUSSION OF THE CONCLUSIONS DERIVED FROM THE DENTAL COMPARISON ENDS THE SUBJECT. CHAPTER VIII CONCERNS GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AS TO DETERMINATION OF THE AGE OF UNKNOWN REMAINS AND THEN CONCENTRATES UPON THE ROLE OF THE DENTITION AS AN INDICATOR OF CHRONOLOGIC AGE. THE METHODOLOGY FOR DENTAL AGE ESTIMATION WITHIN THE VARIOUS AGE CATEGORIES IS ELUCIDATED. THE FINAL CHAPTER, 'BITE MARK ANALYSIS', PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AREA OF FORENSIC DENTISTRY. THE TEXT MATERIAL INTRODUCES THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BITE MARK COMPARISON, DISCUSSES THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA AND PRESENTS THE AUTHOR'S PHILOSOPHY REGARDING THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE ANALYSIS. A CONSIDERATION OF THE LEGAL ASPECTS PERTINENT TO BITE MARK EVIDENCE IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)