dental forensic

INTRODUCTION: Age Estimation has been considered as a human basic right, carried out through the use of tables for dental age assessment based on the chronology of tooth eruption. As such, the final aim of this investigation is to create tables with applicability to the Portuguese population, for the different scoring systems used and combined different statistical approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this purpose, dental age assessment was achieved in all four third molars, using different scoring systems, in a total sample of 626 orthopantomograms (324 females, 302 males), aged between 12 and 25 years old, from the database population of Lisbon North University Hospital Center, approved by the Ethic Committee...

The aim of this study is to compare a technique using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with the Demirjian's method for chronological age estimation of living individuals based on tooth age from panoramic radiographs. This research used 5898 panoramic X-ray images collected for diagnostic from pediatric patients aged 4-17 who sought treatment at Antalya Oral and Dental Health Hospital between 2015 and 2020. The Demirjian's method's grading was executed by researchers who possessed appropriate training and experience...

Postmortem fingerprinting is the fastest and most reliable way to scientifically identify unknown decedents from mass fatality incidents. In disaster victim identification (DVI), fingerprints, DNA, and dental examinations are the three primary methods of identification. Additional secondary identifiers such as comparative medical radiography, scars, marks, and tattoos can also be used if viable antemortem information can be located. As DNA technology continues to evolve, RAPID DNA may now identify a profile within 90 min if the remains are not degraded or comingled...

Forensic dentistry plays a pivotal role in identifying deceased individuals when visual or other means of identification are not possible, particularly in the aftermath of mass disasters or criminal activities. Accurate and timely identification of the deceased and injured becomes crucial following events like earthquakes, fires, transport accidents, gunshot incidents, floods, tsunamis, bomb blasts, and terrorist attacks. The process of creating a person's identity is a formidable task, often relying on prevalent methods such as dental, DNA, and fingerprint analyses...

How to cite this article: Yukta HN, Augustine D, SV Sowmya. Effect of Geographic Variation in Bioarcheology: A Forensic Odontology Perspective. J Contemp Dent Pract 2024;25(1):1-2.

Background and objective Human teeth have a significant forensic importance. As they are the hardest of all human tissues, they are not just chemically stable but also their characteristics are maintained for a long time after death even in the most harsh environmental conditions. Despite the advances made in DNA analysis, fingerprinting, etc., ABO blood grouping still plays a significant role in the forensic practice in the field of personal identification, paternity disputes, and several other scenarios including the identification of mass disaster victims ...

In forensic practice, medicolegal physicians are often tasked with estimating age using dental evidence. This calls for an uncomplicated, reliable, and reproducible method for dental age estimation, enabling physicians to proceed without specific odontological expertise. Among various dental methods, third molar eruption analyses are less complicated and easier to perform. In our study, we explored the effectiveness of Gambier et al.'s scoring system, which examines the eruption of all third molars. We retrospectively analysed 1032 orthopantomograms (528 males and 504 females) of individuals aged between 15 and 24 years...

A common application for intraoral scanners is the digitization of the morphology of teeth and palatal rugae. Palatal scans are most commonly required to fabricate complete dentures and immediate transitional dentures and serve as a reference point for assessing orthodontic results. However, they are also frequently included by accident, even though the main purpose of intraoral scanning is to reconstruct dentition using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). The literature shows that the identification of disaster victims has frequently involved palatal rugae impressions...

Age estimation is a major challenge in anthropology and forensic odontology laboratories, as well as in judicial settings, as one of the tools used in human identification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of age estimation methods based on the accurate measurement of tooth color changes. A systematic review was carried out following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and in compliance with Cochrane criteria recommendations (PROSPERO registration number CRD 42022343371)...

Dental anatomy is an essential skill for human identification in forensic odontology. With the advent of technology enabling virtual autopsies, there is scope for virtual consultation by forensic odontologists especially when the expertise is unavailable but needed in zones of conflict or disasters. This study aimed to investigate potential benefits and challenges of identifying intact and damaged teeth from 3D scanned digital models. Ten 3D tooth models - nine permanent and deciduous human teeth and one animal tooth were uploaded on a hosting platform...

OBJECTIVE: This paper assesses the relationship between the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest and risk factors commonly associated with periodontitis. MATERIALS: Eighty individuals between 28 and 92 years old with known biological sex and age were analyzed from a 20th century forensic human collection from Merida, Yucatan (Mexico). METHODS: Macroscopic assessment, along with metric analysis, was employed using a probe...

This narrative review highlights the role of endodontists and the significance of various dental tools in forensic dentistry. An online search was conducted in peer-reviewed journals, including MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, to retrieve studies regarding "the role of an endodontist in victim identification using different tools". The searches used controlled vocabulary and free-text terms. Articles written in English and published from 1923 to 2023 were selected...

Wrist injuries are not uncommon in forensic routine and are usually found in the context of suicides or as a result of psychiatric illnesses, e.g., borderline disorders. Sharp objects (knives, broken glass, etc.) are usually used. In the case reported here, a paranoid-schizophrenic man not only injured himself with razor blades on both wrists, but he also inflicted extensive wrist bite injuries using his dental prosthesis. In addition to the severance of flexor tendons, venous vessels and the left radial artery were torn with subsequent blood loss...

Third molar development is used for dental age estimation when all the other teeth are fully mature. In most medicolegal facilities, dental age estimation is an operator-dependent procedure. During the examination of unaccompanied and undocumented minors, this procedure may lead to binary decisions around age thresholds of legal interest, namely the ages of 14, 16 and 18 years. This study aimed to test the performance of artificial intelligence to classify individuals below and above the legal age thresholds of 14, 16 and 18 years using third molar development...

UNLABELLED: Dental age estimation has its application in various subdisciplines of medicine and dentistry. New methods of dental age (DA) estimation are emerging and it is important that we compare different methods to determine which one is more closely related to the chronological age. Demirjian's method is one of the most widely used techniques and has been tested in various ethnic populations globally. In 2016, another approach to DA estimation is the London atlas of human tooth development and eruption...

Various staging scales have been proposed for the assessment of the visibility of the periodontal ligament space of mandibular third molars on dental panoramic radiographs (PANs) for forensic age assessment in living individuals. However, up to now, there has been no systematic comparison between these staging scales available. We directly compared the 2010 staging scale proposed by Olze et al. with the 2017 staging by Lucas et al. and the 2020 staging by Guo et al. in a German study population. We evaluated 233 PANs from 115 females and 118 males aged 20...

OBJECTIVE: Palatal rugae are frequently used in the evaluation of tooth movement after treatment in orthodontics and as a stable region in superimposition. It is important to note that the impression method and material used to record the rugae region affect the accuracy of the impression. The aim of this study is to compare the accuracy of palatal rugae, in three-dimensional (3D) by employing both conventional and digital impression methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 22 patients (12 females, 10 males) mean age of 13...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate macroscopically and radiographically the behavior of four endodontic sealers submitted to high temperatures, with forensic purposes. METHODS: Sixty-four lower anterior teeth were included. All teeth were endodontically treated, and simulation of external cervical resorption (ECR) was performed. Half of the sample was filled with AH-Plus™ cement and had ECR sealed with Bio-C-Repair™. The other 32 teeth were filled with Bio-C-Sealer™ cement and had their respective ECR sealed with MTA-Repair™...

Adult age estimation is one of the most challenging problems in forensic science and physical anthropology. In this study, we aimed to develop and evaluate machine learning (ML) methods based on the modified Gustafson's criteria for dental age estimation. In this retrospective study, a total of 851 orthopantomograms were collected from patients aged 15 to 40 years old. The secondary dentin formation (SE), periodontal recession (PE), and attrition (AT) of four mandibular premolars were analyzed according to the modified Gustafson's criteria...

This work aimed to assess the pulp/tooth area ratio's utility in the upper central incisors using orthopantomograms. A convenience sample of 801 adult patient orthopantomograms was studied. Image J® software was used to measure the pulp/tooth area ratio, and a regression model was developed. Our results conclude that the methodology assessing upper incisors' pulp/tooth area ratio using orthopantomograms can lead to age overestimation and statistically significant differences between chronological and estimated age...