From Volume 50, Issue 7, July 2023 | Pages 600-607
Antemortem photographs can be useful for forensic odontology purposes. Five case studies demonstrate how antemortem photographs (including selfies and dental intra-oral photographs) and 3D scans have been used successfully in human identification. evidence, implementation is limited in the UK, and this appears to be due an inconducive political environment, although this is improving.
Identification using dental records is an efficient, reliable and economical procedure. Odontology is a primary identifier, so can be used alone or in combination with other means of identification to establish the identity of an individual.1,2 Forensic odontology frequently relies upon dental restorations and site of the teeth present. However, historically forensic odontology seldom uses all of the information available about the teeth and jaws, including size and shape of teeth and arches, and the intra and inter-arch relationships of teeth and jaws. Identification using odontology is dependent on the presence of adequate dental remains, and on the availability and quality of antemortem (AM) dental records.3 Dental records should be accurate and the dental chart is one of the fundamental components of dental records; however, one audit of more than 1000 dental charts from general dental practice in the UK revealed that 44% were incorrect.4,5 Forensic odontologists will use all available elements of the dental records whenever possible, including clinical notes and radiographs, and if available photographs, laboratory slips, referral letters, models, orthodontic appliances, mouth guards, occlusal splints and bleaching trays.6,7 Radiographs, photographs and study models capture the dentition reliably at a given point in time, and when available in the dental records, they may prove to be invaluable for an odontologist. Even photographs of the smile that have not been taken by the dental team may be a reliable source of AM information with the potential to help solve certain cases of human identification.8 Forensic odontology case studies in the literature have described the comparison between a 2-dimensional (2D) AM photograph and a 2D post-mortem (PM) photograph.8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 With the advent of 3-dimensional (3D) technology, further opportunities have arisen for different methodologies of forensic comparison to support a forensic odontology conclusion in human identification.18,19,20
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