Estudo do aspecto odonto-legal das lesões corporais decorrentes de violencia domestica / Dental forensic identification of body lesions caused by domestic violence

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

Domestic violence is a problem among families worldwide. Victims usually present at medicolegal services with complaints about several kinds of aggression. In most cases, these medicolegal services, just like the one in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, lack forensic dentists. The aim of this work was to assess lesions located at the stomatognathic apparatus, as well as human bitemarks found at any body segment resulted from domestic violence. Medicolegal reports (n=906) on domestic violence registered between January 2002 and December 2003 were selected. These reports comprised descriptions of lesions in lips, oral mucosa, teeth, tongue and jaw region, or even human bitemarks in any part of the body. The aspects analyzed were: age and gender of the victims; their relationship to the aggressor (a family member or a neighbor); when aggression occurred; lesion severity; human bitemarks; number of lesions in each person; and ?animus laedendi? of the aggressor. Results showed that women are the most frequent victims; although aggressions between spouses predominate, violence is also widely observed among neighbors and relatives themselves. Minor lesions resulting from contusion also predominate; occurrences concentrate most frequently at night and on weekends; bitemarks with varied aspects are found in most cases at upper limbs. In conclusion, all cases (n=906) involved bitemarks or lesions in the mouth and jaw region. Many cases showed lesions (n=1013) in the stomatognathic apparatus; bitemarks were observed in 252 of the cases. Since these lesions involve Forensic Dentistry, the presence of a forensic dentist at a medicolegal service would be of great importance for a more accurate identification of cases involving domestic violence

ASSUNTO(S)

ferimentos e lesões sistema estomatognatico violencia familiar wounds and injuries domestic violence stomatognathic system

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