Forensic odontology - How much do we know?

Background: Several methods have been employed for diagnosing inflammatory conditions including biomarkers, enzymes and various other clinical parameters. Dermatoglyphics is one such field which has gained entry in Forensic Medicine, Forensic Odontology and in General Medicine for diagnosing chronic inflammatory conditions. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory condition associated with destruction of periodontal tissues. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the fingerprint patterns and chronic periodontitis Methods: A total of 60 patients, belonging to both healthy and chronic periodontitis subjects were assessed by a commercially available fingerprint scanner. All the fingerprint images were assessed for the fingerprint pattern and the ridge count manually. The results were tabulated as percentage frequency distribution for the type of fingerprint pattern. The ridge count is shown as mean ± SD. Unpaired t test was applied to test for statistical significance. Results: The frequency distribution showed equal percentage of Radial Loop type of fingerprint pattern in subjects of both Health and Chronic Periodontitis. Statistical analysis showed Plain Whorl type of fingerprint pattern more significant in subjects having Chronic Periodontitis Conclusion: It was concluded that there might be a relationship between type of fingerprint pattern to the chances of a person having Chronic Periodontitis.

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Founding Editorial – Forensics and TheScientificWorld

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1100/tsw.2001.299 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 605-608

Author(s):

Walter Rowe

Keyword(s):

Forensic Science ◽

Forensic Toxicology ◽

Forensic Odontology ◽

Eyewitness Testimony ◽

Scientific Application ◽

Forensic Biology ◽

Current State ◽

Tool Mark ◽

The World ◽

Forensic Engineering

At the beginning of a new millennium it seems a good idea to stop for a moment and take stock of the current state of forensic science. As a field of scientific research and scientific application, forensic science is a little more than a century old. Forensic science may be said to have begun in 1887 with the simultaneous publication of A. Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet and Hans Gross’s Handbuch für Untersuchungsrichter. Conan Doyle’s novel introduced to the world the character of Sherlock Holmes, whose literary career would popularize the use of physical evidence in criminal investigations. Gross’s manual for examining magistrates suggests ways in which the expertise of chemists, biologists, geologists, and other natural scientists could contribute to investigations. Gross’s book was translated into a number of languages and went through various updated editions during the course of the century. The intervening century saw the development and application of fingerprinting, firearm and tool mark identification, forensic chemistry, forensic biology, forensic toxicology, forensic odontology, forensic pathology, and forensic engineering. Increasingly, the judicial systems of the industrial nations of the world have come to rely upon the expertise of scientists in a variety of disciplines. In most advanced countries, virtually all criminal prosecutions now involve the presentation of scientific testimony. This has had the beneficial effect of diminishing the reliance of courts on eyewitness testimony and defendant confessions.

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The history of forensic odontology in Japan

Forensic Science International ◽

10.1016/0379-0738(96)01925-1 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 80 (1-2) ◽

pp. 33-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Kazuo Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Forensic Odontology ◽

History Of

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Contour- and Texture-based analysis for victim identification in forensic odontology

Data Technologies and Applications ◽

10.1108/dta-03-2021-0075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

G. Jaffino ◽

J. Prabin Jose

Keyword(s):

Feature Extraction ◽

Texture Feature ◽

Forensic Odontology ◽

Individual Identification ◽

Texture Feature Extraction ◽

Person Identification ◽

Content Type ◽

Photographic Images ◽

Shape Extraction ◽

Contour Shape

PurposeForensic dentistry is the application of dentistry in legal proceedings that arise from any facts relating to teeth. The ultimate goal of forensic odontology is to identify the individual when there are no other means of identification such as fingerprint, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), iris, hand print and leg print. The purpose of selecting dental record is for the teeth to be able to withstand decomposition, heat degradation up to 1600 °C. Dental patterns are unique for every individual. This work aims to analyze the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic dental images for person identification.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve an accurate identification of individuals, the missing tooth in the radiograph has to be identified before matching of ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) radiographs. To identify whether the missing tooth is a molar or premolar, each tooth in the given radiograph has to be classified using a k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classifier; then, it is matched with the universal tooth numbering system. In order to make exact person identification, this research work is mainly concentrate on contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction for person identification. This work aims to analyze the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic images for individual identification. Then, shape matching of AM and PM images is performed by similarity and distance metric for accurate person identification.FindingsThe experimental results are analyzed for shape and feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic dental images. From this analysis, it is proved that the higher hit rate performance is observed for the active contour shape extraction model, and it is well suited for forensic odontologists to identify a person in mass disaster situations.Research limitations/implicationsForensic odontology is a branch of human identification that uses dental evidence to identify the victims. In mass disaster circumstances, contours and dental patterns are very useful to extract the shape in individual identification.Originality/valueThe experimental results are analyzed both the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic images. From this analysis, it is proved that the higher hit rate performance is observed for the active contour shape extraction model and it is well suited for forensic odontologists to identify a person in mass disaster situations. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for individual identification of both radiographic and photographic images with a view to accurate identification of the person.

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