Introduction: Forensic odontology is a branch that is evolving over time and has opened newer avenues that may help in the identification of individuals. Tooth prints are the enamel rod end patterns on tooth surface and they are considered as a hard tissue analog to fingerprints. Teeth have the highest resistance to most environmental effects like fire, desiccation, and decomposition, and may be used as a forensic evidence. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate if the tooth prints could be used for an individual's identification and reproducibility and permanency of these tooth prints after exposing the teeth to acid and various degrees of temperature. Materials and Methods: 90 tooth prints from 20 freshly extracted maxillary premolar teeth were obtained. Cellophane tape technique was used to record enamel rod end patterns on tooth surface. Ten teeth (one from each patient) were immersed in 36.46% hydrochloric acid and the tooth prints were obtained at various intervals (5 min, 10 min, and 20 min). The other 10 teeth (one from each patient) were incinerated and impression was made at various intervals (80^o C, 400^o C, 600^o C, and 750^o C). Tooth prints obtained from different teeth (total of 90 tooth prints) were analyzed using Verifinger® standard SDK version 5.0 software. Results: All the 20 original tooth prints were distinct from each other and no inter-individual or intra-individual similarity was found. The tooth prints from the same tooth after it was exposed to acid or heat were reproducible and showed high to very high similarity with the original tooth print of that particular tooth stored in the database. Conclusion: Tooth prints may be used as an effective aid in person identification even in adverse conditions such as burn and acid attack injuries.

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Context: Changes in the size of dental pulp caused by the apposition of secondary dentin and occlusal wear are morphometric parameters for estimating age. Aim: To estimate the accuracy of age evaluation by Kvaal's method and the effect of occlusal wear on age using digital intraoral periapical radiographs in a subset of the Indian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 teeth were radiographically evaluated using intraoral periapical digital radiographs from 50 adult patients. A few modifications were made in the design of the study compared to the original Kvaal's method. The radiographs of three teeth from each jaw were taken and morphometric measurements in ratios were analyzed, which included the pulp length to tooth length (X₁), pulp length to root length (X₂), pulp width to root widths at three defined levels (X₃), and tooth length to root length (X₄). Statistical Analysis: The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PCC) between age and the morphological variables showed that among them X₁, X₂, and X₃were statistically significant but not the tooth root length ratio (X₄). Conclusions: The ratios X₁, X₂, and X₃were good indicators of age and hence a multiple linear regression model for age estimation was derived using these three variables. However, it was found that X₄was not a good indicator of age estimation in said population.

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Aim: The study aimed to determine the technique with maximum accuracy in production of bite mark overlay.Materials and Methods: Thirty subjects (10 males and 20 females; all aged 20–30 years) with complete set of natural upper and lower anterior teeth were selected for this study after obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee. The upper and lower alginate impressions were taken and die stone models were obtained from each impression; overlays were produced from the biting surfaces of six upper and six lower anterior teeth by hand tracing from study casts, hand tracing from wax impressions of the bite surface, radiopaque wax impression method, and xerographic method. These were compared with the original overlay produced digitally. Results: Xerographic method was the most accurate of the four techniques, with the highest reproducibility for bite mark analysis. The methods of wax impression were better for producing overlay of tooth away from the occlusal plane.Conclusions: Various techniques are used in bite mark analysis and the choice of technique depends largely on personal preference. No single technique has been shown to be better than the others and very little research has been carried out to compare different methods. This study evaluated the accuracy of direct comparisons between suspect's models and bite marks with indirect comparisons in the form of conventional traced overlays of suspects and found the xerographic technique to be the best.

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Forensic dentistry involves the processing, review, evaluation, and presentation of dental evidence with the purpose of contributing scientific and objective data to legal processes. The present, systematic review was conducted to assess knowledge and awareness of forensic odontology among dentists in India. A systematic review of relevant cross-sectional studies was conducted regarding the level of knowledge, awareness, and practical application of forensic odontology among dentists in India. Four out of 129 studies were finally included in the present review after conducting a search of both electronic and manual scientific databases. Potential biases were addressed and the relevant data were extracted by the concerned investigators. Almost all the subjects were familiar with the subject of forensic odontology in one of the study reports. Only 12% of dentists were maintaining complete dental records in the findings of another study. Only 4% of dentists reported to have contributed to the identification of victims in a mass disaster in yet another study. The findings of another study revealed that 40% of dental practitioners did not have the expertise to identify child abuse. The results of the present review showed that the knowledge and awareness level of subjects was inadequate and that there is considerable variation in the practice of forensic odontology among dentists. It is necessary to expose dentists to the basic principles and techniques of the subject.

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Background: To identify the sex of the deceased individual from dental hard tissue such as enamel and dentine. Objective: To isolate the DNA from dental hard tissue (enamel and dentin) from teeth extracted for prophylactic purpose, to assess the quality and purity of DNA and to identify the sex using polymerized chain reactor (PCR). Materials and Methods: DNA was extracted following phenol/chloroform (organic) extraction from 20 male and 20 female teeth. The samples that contain the amelogenin gene (amel) were amplified by PCR. The products of the PCR were run on agarose gel with ethidium bromide staining on gel documentation system. Results: The results on the gel showed the presence of X-specific bands at 212 bp and Y-specific bands at 218 bp. Males were distinguished from females by the presence of two bands whereas female samples showed only one, that is, X-specific band on the gel. The gender from the known samples was determined with complete accuracy, and the results were analyzed statistically by the Chi-square test. Conclusion: In our study, the PCR-based method showed 100% specificity and sensitivity.

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Context: Variations in morphology of shape of teeth have always been of interest to dentists from ancient times. But to our surprise, till date, no studies related to the prevalence of dental features have been conducted in any part of the world. Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of a few variant dental features in a group of children aged from 11 to 16 years in the city of Davangere that belongs to the state of Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted where children aged 11–16 years were selected (both girls and boys) and type III clinical examination was done. They were checked for the following features – Carabelli's cusp, 3-cusped maxillary 2^nd molar, 5-cusped maxillary 1^st molar, 4-cusped mandibular 1^st molar, 5-cusped mandibular 2^nd molar, cusp 6 present in mandibular 1^st molar, and 7-cusped mandibular 1^st molar. Statistical Analysis Used: The Chi-square test was used to analyze the categorical data. P value of 0.05 or less was considered for statistical significance. Results: Around 99.3% of the school children examined had at least one of the dental variations that were examined in relation to the shape of teeth. Conclusions: This study definitely provides us with baseline data, but further epidemiological studies are required to determine the prevalence of the above mentioned dental anomalies.

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Background: Police personnel play an important role in collecting and producing evidence. Knowledge about the various aspects of forensic as well as dental sciences and related evidence in them provide a golden opportunity to forensic odontologists to actively participate in the identification of the accused or victim. They can also act as an expert witness in court to produce forensic dental evidence. Aim: To evaluate the awareness and knowledge about the utilization of forensic odontology during evidence collection by the crime scene investigation (CSI) officers. Materials and Methods: Four hundred police officers were included in this survey. A questionnaire was designed to assess the awareness and knowledge about forensic odontology and application of the known knowledge in identifying and considering the dental evidences. Data were analyzed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Chicago, Il, USA) version 17.0 by comparing the overall awareness of forensic odontology among the trained SI officers and trainee police personnel. Results: The collected results showed that there is a requirement for changes in the current practice of evidence collection and highlighted the need for better communication between the police personnel and forensic odontologists. A significantly higher number of police officers in both the trained and trainee groups reported knowledge about the subject (P < 0.001) through newspapers and mass media as the sources of knowledge. Conclusion: Even though the respondents have knowledge about forensic odontology, there is a lack of communication and facilities in their system; hence, steps must be taken to educate the police personnel about the application of forensic odontology.

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Purpose: Identification of human body or remains after death is a forensic procedure, which is difficult to perform and is mandatory by law and in compliance with social norms. Sexing the recovered human remains is an integral part of the identification process. Maxillary sinus can be used for gender determination as it remains intact even when the skull and other bones may be badly damaged in casualties where the body is incinerated. Computed tomography (CT) provides an excellent method for examining maxillary sinuses. Materials and Methods: CT images were used to measure the mediolateral, superoinferior, and anteroposterior dimensions and the volume of the maxillary sinuses in 30 patients (15 males and 15 females) to investigate whether these parameters could be used to determine the gender of an individual for forensic identification. The t-test for independent samples was used to compare these values in males and females and the data were subjected to discriminative analysis using SPSS software. Results: Our method was able to predict the gender with an accuracy of 80.0% in males and 86.7% in females, with an overall accuracy rate of 83.3%. Conclusion: The accuracy rate in this study was comparable, if not higher than many other methods that have been used to predict the gender of an individual from skeletal remains. The length, width, height, and volume of the maxillary sinuses together with other bones could be used for gender determination with a fair degree of accuracy when the whole skeleton is not available.

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Today's society is becoming increasingly unsafe for children: we frequently hear about new incidents of missing children, which lead to emotional trauma for the loved ones and expose systemic failures of law and order. Parents can take extra precautions to ensure the safety of their children by educating them about ways to protect themselves and keep important records of the child such as updated color photographs, fingerprints, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples, etc., handy. However, in spite of all efforts, the problem of missing children still remains. Developments in the field of dentistry have empowered dentists with various tools and techniques to play a pivotal role in tracing a missing child. One such tool is Toothprints, a patented arch-shaped thermoplastic dental impression wafer developed by Dr. David Tesini, a paediatric dentist from Massachusetts. Toothprints enables a unique identification of the missing children not only through the bite impression but also through salivary DNA. Besides the use of Toothprints, a dentist can assist investigating agencies in identifying the missing children in multiple ways, including postmortem dental profiling, labeled dental fixtures, DNA extraction from teeth, and serial number engraving on the children's teeth. More importantly, all these tools cause minimal inconvenience to the individual, making a dentist's role in tracking a missing child even more significant. Thus, the simple discipline of maintaining timely dental records with the help of their dentists can save potential hassles for the parents in the future.

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Aims and Objectives: Sexual dimorphism refers to the variations in tooth size and shape between the sexes. The consistency of these variations is valuable in the identification of the sex of an individual in times of mass disaster when whole body parts get destroyed or are unavailable. There exist differences in the expression of these variables across races and regions. This study aims to tabulate and identify the variations in tooth measurements using standarized reference points in an attempt to establish parameters of sexual dimorphism. Materials and Methods: 100 individuals (50 of each sex) in the age group 19-23 years were assessed for standard morphometric parameters of the maxillary central incisor, canine, premolar and molar. Odontometric measurements of established parameters were recorded from impression casts of the maxillary jaws. The mesiodistal width (MDW), the bucco-ligual width (BLW), the crown length (CL) and the cervical angle (CA) were charted among the teeth. The consistency of the variations was statistically analyzed and a logistic regression table was prepared to identify the sex of the individual from the tooth measurements.Results and Conclusions: The BLW, MDW and CL reflected significant variations among all the teeth to be effective in establishing sexual dimorphism. CA as a parameter was inadequate across all the teeth. The permanent maxillary canine was the most important tooth to be reflective of the gender and statistically significant to be utilized for gender determination.

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Objective: The main objective of the study was morphometric evaluation of the frontal sinus in relation to age and gender and to establish its forensic importance and application. Materials and Method: The study group consisted of 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females) in the age groups 14-20 years, 21-30 years, 31-45 years, 45 years and above. Posteroanterior (PA) cephalogram radiographs were taken using standardized technique. The processed films were traced and frontal sinus pattern was established as per Yoshino's classification system. Results: The mean values for length, width, and area of the frontal sinus were found to be higher in males as compared to females and area of frontal sinuses increase with age except in males who were 45 years and above. The left width, left area, and bilateral asymmetry in relation to gender was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The morphologic evaluation of frontal sinus is a useful technique to determine gender and seems promising in personal identification.

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Neurodegenerative disorders are commonly seen in elderly individuals. Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common example with memory loss, lack of logic, reasoning and analytical thinking. In this case report simple method of 2D Bar code technique of denture marking has been explained which will not only useful in patients with memory loss but it is very helpful in identifying the individuals in case of natural calamities like floods, earthquake, tornedo, state of unconsciousness and accidents. Such patients can be traced easily by denture barcoding. This technique is a major breakthrough in the field of forensic dentistry.

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Context: Since Demirjian system of estimating dental maturity was first described, many researchers from different countries have tested its accuracy among diverse populations. Some of these studies have pointed out a need to determine population-specific standards. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the suitability of the Demirjian's method for dental age assessment in Tunisian children. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study previously approved by the Research Ethics Local Committee of the University Hospital Fattouma Bourguiba of Monastir (Tunisia). Panoramic radiographs of 280 healthy Tunisian children of age 2.8–16.5 years were examined with Demirjian method and scored by three trained observers. Statistical Analysis Used: Dental age was compared to chronological age by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Cohen's Kappa test was performed to calculate the intra- and inter-examiner agreements. Results: Underestimation was seen in children aged between 9 and 16 years and the range of accuracy varied from −0.02 to 3 years. The advancement in dental age as determined by Demirjian system when compared to chronological age ranged from 0.3 to 1.32 year for young males and from 0.26 to 1.37 year for young females (age ranged from 3 to 8 years). Conclusions: The standards provided by Demirjian for French-Canadian children may not be suitable for Tunisian children. Each population of children may need their own specific standard for an accurate estimation of chronological age.

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Background: The palatal rugae are the ridges situated in the anterior part of the palatal mucosa, are unique to each individual, and can establish individual's identity. Aims: To establish the reliability of using the palatal rugae dimensions in identifying the different ethnic groups. Settings and Design: Many studies have established the reliability of using the palatal rugae patterns in identifying the different ethnic groups. However, no studies have been reported in the English language literature that uses the rugae dimensions to identify the different ethnic groups. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 subjects aged between 18–30 years comprising of 30 Kannada speaking and 30 Malayalam speaking individuals, with 15 males and 15 females, in each were considered for the study. The rugae patterns of these patients were traced on dental casts obtained with alginate impressions. A digital caliper was used to measure the different dimensions of the palatal rugae. Stastical Analysis: Statistical analysis was carried out using the unpaired 't' test. Results and Conclusion: The present study showed a significant difference in the palatal rugae dimensions among the Karnataka and Kerala individuals.

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