Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology

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Categories: Ethics, Jurisprudence and Malpractice;
Posted: July 22, 2026
By Howard Farran, DDS, MBA

Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology

A photograph of an alleged human bite has pulled dentistry into a high profile legal dispute involving Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua. The image, filed in an active Los Angeles County civil lawsuit brought by Madison Atiabi, appears to show a broad, nearly complete bite pattern on her upper back or shoulder. Atiabi alleges that Nacua bit her during a New Year’s Eve gathering and also made antisemitic remarks. Nacua denies the allegations and says the physical contact was consensual horseplay.

For dentists, the case is less about celebrity and more about the limits of what teeth can prove.

The photograph is visually powerful. It appears to document a substantial human bite, and Atiabi’s attorney says the injury required medical attention, including a tetanus shot. That is clinically plausible. Human bites can introduce bacteria deep into tissue and may require prompt evaluation, wound care, tetanus review, and, depending on the injury, antibiotics.

But a photograph cannot establish intent, consent, or legal responsibility. It can support the claim that a bite occurred and help document its severity. It cannot reveal the context surrounding the injury or determine whether the contact was playful, reckless, or deliberate. Those questions depend on testimony, medical records, contemporaneous messages, witnesses, and other evidence.

The case also highlights a larger problem in forensic odontology. Dentists are trained to recognize distinctive anatomy, and a clear bite pattern naturally invites comparison with a person’s dentition. Yet skin is not impression material. It stretches, bruises, swells, heals, and changes with body position, pressure, movement, lighting, and photography. A mark that looks precise may still be distorted.

That distinction has become increasingly important in forensic science. The 2009 National Research Council report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States, questioned the scientific foundation of bite mark identification. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology later raised similar concerns. The central issue is not whether a human bite can be recognized. It is whether that mark can reliably identify one specific person.

For practicing dentists, the lesson is practical. When a patient presents with a suspected bite injury, the dentist’s role is to document carefully, describe objectively, photograph consistently, assess oral and facial injury, and refer for medical care when infection risk or deeper tissue damage is present. The record should separate observation from inference. Describe what is visible. Avoid claiming what the evidence cannot establish.

Good diagnosis begins by slowing down, separating the finding from the story, and asking what additional evidence is needed before reaching a conclusion.

In the Puka Nacua lawsuit, the image may become important evidence, but it is not the entire case. It may help show that an injury occurred and that it was not trivial. It does not, by itself, prove who caused it, why it happened, or whether legal liability follows.

When a photograph feels conclusive, are we seeing evidence, or certainty the image cannot actually provide?

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Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology


Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology


Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology


Puka Nacua Bite Mark Lawsuit Raises Questions About Forensic Odontology



Puka Nacua Lawsuit and Bite Mark Photograph

Photo Shows Severity of Puka Nacua’s Alleged Bite, Lawyer Says
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2026/07/21/puka-nacua-bite-photo-lawsuit/90989294007/

New Photo Shows Detailed Puka Nacua Bite Mark on Woman Who Is Suing Him
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/new-photo-shows-detailed-puka-nacua-bite-mark-on-woman-who-is-suing-him

Puka Nacua Sued, Accused of Biting Women and Making Antisemitic Remark
https://www.reuters.com/sports/puka-nacua-sued-accused-biting-women-making-antisemitic-remark–flm-2026-03-26/

Forensic Bite Mark Evidence

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward
https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/12589/chapter/7
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