IADR Abstract Archives
Forensic Odontology in the era of Improved Technology
Objectives: Forensic Odontology is defined as “That branch of dentistry that in the interest of justice deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence and the proper evaluation and presentation of dental findings”.
It has become imperative for the African oral health fraternity to prepare and arm itself with personnel who are equipped to investigate and interpret knowledge obtained from genomics, genetic sequencing, transcriptomics and proteomics, molecular profiling and bioinformatic data
With the upskilling of the forensic odontologist in these areas of knowledge, copious information can be gleaned from just the finding of a single tooth or skull. The discipline of Forensic Odontology has expanded to include the teeth and the entire craniofacial area.
In addition, with new technologies such as CBCTs, these features can be scrutinized in even more detail and more unidentified bodies can actually be identified and returned to their families. In doing so, it not only provides a way to ensure that justice is served, but it also brings closure to many grieving families.
A Forensic Case will be presented in an instance where only a skull was found.
Methods: A comparison was done between the evaluations on a CBCT volume of the craniofacial features and sutures, using several planes, and those done by the more traditional method using spreading callipers.
Results: For this specific case, the results yielded, were almost identical.
Conclusions: The authors concluded that more studies of this nature are required to validate the methods used, in particular for the diverse South African population.
It has become imperative for the African oral health fraternity to prepare and arm itself with personnel who are equipped to investigate and interpret knowledge obtained from genomics, genetic sequencing, transcriptomics and proteomics, molecular profiling and bioinformatic data
With the upskilling of the forensic odontologist in these areas of knowledge, copious information can be gleaned from just the finding of a single tooth or skull. The discipline of Forensic Odontology has expanded to include the teeth and the entire craniofacial area.
In addition, with new technologies such as CBCTs, these features can be scrutinized in even more detail and more unidentified bodies can actually be identified and returned to their families. In doing so, it not only provides a way to ensure that justice is served, but it also brings closure to many grieving families.
A Forensic Case will be presented in an instance where only a skull was found.
Methods: A comparison was done between the evaluations on a CBCT volume of the craniofacial features and sutures, using several planes, and those done by the more traditional method using spreading callipers.
Results: For this specific case, the results yielded, were almost identical.
Conclusions: The authors concluded that more studies of this nature are required to validate the methods used, in particular for the diverse South African population.