[Matching bite marks using modeling wax plates].

Bite marks are rarely seen in forensic medical examinations. In most cases one can easily differentiate whether a bite mark is of human or animal origin due to the arched shape and crushed character of human bite marks. From a forensic point of view it is more interesting whether a dental imprint has been caused by an adult or a child, because children are often abused for a defensive statement. Two cases of bite injuries in children are presented. In the first case, a two-month-old infant was presented by pediatricians. The second case deals with a one-year-old boy who had allegedly been bitten several times by a two-year-old girl in a nursery school. A comparison could be performed between the bite mark impressions on the victim's skin (based on photographic documentation) and dental imprints of single teeth measuring the tooth width on the one hand and the intercanine distance on the other hand with the help of modeling wax plates. This procedure showed good correlations between the bite marks on the victim and the dental status of the biter. Especially for taking bite impressions on children, modeling wax plates are a simple, fast and cheap alternative to dental impression-taking.