Comparison between fingerprint and dental concordant characteristics.

Twelve concordant characteristics are used in fingerprint identification. The South African courts of law are prepared to accept 7 concordant characteristics as being "beyond reasonable doubt" in the case of finger, hand and foot prints. In cases of identification by dental means, 12 concordant features have been advocated. In South Africa, with its mixed population in which a large majority have dental formulae containing normal decayed and missing teeth, these patterns show duplication and triplication. It is feasible to submit 7 concordant dental characteristics as positive identification in a mouth containing dental restorations, but in a mouth which features only missing teeth, pattern duplication demands more than 12 concordant characteristics for positive identification. Seven concordant dental characteristics have not been tested in the South African courts to date.