85 research outputs found
Forensic Odontology:psychological aspects reflected in the dental mirror
Get PDFForensic dentists can feel pressured to deliver expert opinion or deal with psychological issues that might rise from their investigative involvement in cases associated with death, child abuse and disaster victim identification. Their regular exposure to these elements of their professional practices can negatively impact the enjoyment of mental health and possibly require the assistance of a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, or a counsellor. Our objective is to inform individuals who aim to become forensic dentists and those who already have a career in the field, exposing some characteristics of its professional demands, relating them to some insights on how the fulfilment of these duties influence positively or negatively the psychological states undergone by these professionals, and briefly but responsibly to illustrate how mental health professionals can act in the sense of building autonomy and self-care skills in their clients, so that forensic dentists can continue working without suffering, unnecessarily and or quietly. We conclude by recommending that it is urgent that further research and discussion on the nature and reverberations of the professional and biopsychosocial suffering of forensic dentists must be developed, for a society that disregards the care for its carers denies, from its start, the very significance of what means to ‘care for’
Archetypal image of the teeth – Stimulating certain understandings for the appreciation of the biting wit
Get PDFThere are meanings which were [are] attributed to the archetypal image of the tooth, honouring how dynamic operations of the biological (chemical and physiological characteristics), emotional, and behavioural aspects of its existence and organic manifestation impacted the understandings that some ethnic communities, ingrained in their own ecological, geographic, religious, historic, and cultural factors, built and developed through their approximations to teeth, and that can be possibly seen as scaffolding the innumerable, stable and/or modified symbolic representations that constitute the emerging narratives modern humans manifest and exchange when having the tooth as the object of their current experience and enquiry. It discusses individual, collective, and transpersonal states of feeling and reasoning that analyse the possession and the observation of teeth and the phenomena related to their utility, appearance, state of wear, and identitarian judgements that can be drawn from their materiality. Hence, this research discusses how the practise and/or attribution of rituals for modification and/or mutilation of teeth, socioeconomic expectations, cultural meanings, self-identity information, dietary styles, and crimes that surround the human dentition have occurred and insist to occur throughout the conscious and/or unconscious transmission of ideas and ideals that are attached to the image of the tooth, revealing a certain common yet transformed knowledge between traditional and modern societies
Forensic dentistry now and in the future
Get PDFForensic dentistry (odontology) deals with the examination, handling and presentation of dental evidence for the legal system. In the UK this work mainly involves criminal cases but in many other countries its remit also extends to civil litigation. There are four main aspects to forensic dentistry: single body identification, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), age estimation and bite mark identification and analysis. This article provides a brief introduction to the topics and discusses potential future developments that aim to reduce the subjectivity in the analysis process and simplify presentation of evidence to non-dental parties
Enamel thickness of human mandibular canine: A radiographic study
Get PDFEnamel thickness of posterior mandibular dentition has been widely studied to explore the role of masticatory load in determining enamel pattern. Mesial-distal pattern of enamel thickness in posterior teeth is either a reflection of increasing magnitude of bite forces posteriorly or a developmental phenomenon. In the earlier sexual dimorphism studies, the thickness of enamel was more in females than males. However, research diverted to the importance of dentin in determining sexual dimorphism and its relation to the bite forces, with males showing greater dentin resulting in bigger teeth in them. This study had two objectives, one to examine the mesiodistal pattern of enamel thickness of mandibular canines and second to examine the sexual dimorphism in enamel proportion of mandibular canines. Crown width, mesial and distal enamel thickness, enamel cap area and tooth area were measured on digital periapical radiographs of mandibular canines of 85 subjects (44 females and 41 males) of Asian ethnicity using ImageJ. Mesial-distal enamel thickness was statistically analyzed by mixed factorial ANOVA and sexual dimorphism was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Enamel was significantly thicker on the distal than the mesial margins of human mandibular canines similar to the posterior dentition pattern. Sexual dimorphism was observed in enamel cap area as well mesial and distal enamel thickness with females showing more relative proportion of enamel than males
Discussing a Forensic Dental Examination of 1861--A Scientific and Historic Overview
Get PDFThis work is a discussion on a report of dental examination and exclusion made by a British dentist Francis Robertus Lloyd on 30th April 1861. The report entitled: 'Dentistry as a means of Identification' was published in the 'British Journal of Dental Science' under the section 'Miscellanea' in 1861; Mr. Lloyd was contacted by the Indian authorities in order to identify a skull. He may well be the first British dentist to officially report a dental examination in an academic journal. The aims of this discussion are to briefly analyze the difficulties of access to scientific techniques in that century and to provide Mr. Lloyd recognition of his report in the history of Forensic Dentistry.</p
A CAREER IN FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY: IT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT TEETH
Get PDFThroughout the world, forensic odontology academic programmes have been designed and permeate discussions about international or local standard operational protocols, principles or guidelines requiring current technical and scientific knowledge. The heterogeneous groups of students who aim to pursue this career might have high educational and occupational aspirations that will be confronted with the labour markets. In this report, the authors briefly present aspects of the education and training that comprise the choice of a career in forensic odontology nowadays. In conclusion, the individual who opts for forensic odontology as a career must be prepared to find the confidence and resilience to practice professional skills in a unique and challenging field to comply with the society’s expectation
Age Estimation Using Monoradicular Teeth by comparing Pulp/Tooth Area Ratios between Bucco-lingual and Mesio-distal Periapical Radiographs
Get PDFBackground: Age estimation is an integral tool in identification of the victims when visual identification is not possible. Secondary dentin deposition is a regular ageing process and can be utilized in dental age estimation when development and eruption parameters cannot be utilized.Methods: In total, 38 monoradicular teeth of Nepalese subjects were assessed for tooth pulp ratio. Intraoral periapical radiographs of these teeth were taken, and pulp tooth ratio was calculated and dental age was estimated.Results: The mean chronological age was 46.79 years and the mean estimated age was 44.32 years. The pulp/tooth area ratios calculated were in the range of 0.012 to 0.195, and 0.052 to 0.256 for mesio-distal and bucco-lingual planes respectively.Conclusions: Pulp tooth ratio of maxillary lateral incisors and mandibular lateral incisors showed the highest correlation with values of 90% and 76% respectively. Mesio-distal assessment was more accurate in dental age estimation than bucco-lingual view
Overall challenges in age estimation – from bones to teeth
Get PDFDifferent methodologies of age estimation using different human physical parameters have been assisting Forensic Science over the years. Limitations have also been acknowledged but there is a need to discuss about the overall challenges currently faced by experts from different backgrounds. The aim of this literature review was to gather scientific information of difficulties encountered in different parameters in the skeleton for age estimation. The conclusion is that a multidisciplinary approach is recommended for the legal age assessment due to the seriousness of the outcomes and finally, the experts should recognize the reality that chronological age will not always follow the maturity parameters of human development
A new website to aid the interpretation of ante-mortem dental records: www.internationaldentalcharts.org
No full textThe INTERPOL (International Police Organization) Disaster Victim Identification forms represent a global standard for mass disasters and the collection of international ante-mortem dental records. These records can now be interpreted more easily with the help of a new online dictionary of dental terminology for translating dental charts from several languages into English. The free website launched in 2013 (www.internationaldentalcharts.org) is the result of a M.Sc project on international dental charts: Guide of International Dental Charts translated into English –- decoding international ante-mortem dental charts for INTERPOL’s Ante-mortem (AM) Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) forms (Section F2), completed in 2011. The aim of this study was to analyze the tooth numbering system, symbols and abbreviations used on dental charting worldwide. A letter was sent to the national dental associations of the 188 INTERPOL member countries, addressing the goals of the project and asking for samples of dental charts. A total of 45 countries replied and 32 common dental alterations were selected for translation, such as: decay, filling and extraction. Their symbols and/or abbreviations used were summarized in various languages. More than one system of dental notations was used in the same country whereas there was an absence of standard systems in other countries. Some of the samples of charts received were of little value. However, a fair amount of useful information and detail was found in most of them. This free consultation website could be useful when the handwriting, symbols, and abbreviations on the ante-mortem dental charts are not clear. It will be particularly applicable when ante-mortem xrays and casts are not available
Difficulties and limitations of using bite mark analysis in Forensic Dentistry :a lack of science
Get PDFIntrodução: O atual criticismo contra a análise de marcas de mordida tem subestimado um dos campos de maiores atuações do dentista forense. O motivo do criticismo tem um alto grau de severidade. Muitos inocentes foram erroneamente acusados e encarcerados devido análises de marcas de mordidas falhas e fracamente sustentadas pela ciência. Objetivo: Analisar criticamente questões importantes relacionadas à análise de marcas de mordidas e apresentar soluções. Conclusão: A análise de marcas de mordida não deve ser banida da Odontologia Forense, mas seu uso exige precaução. As metodologias de análises fortemente calcadas em ciência devem ser as únicas aceitas no futuro.Introduction: The current criticism against the analysis of bite marks has underestimated one of the greatest roles of the forensic dentist. The criticism about the subject has a high degree of severity. Many innocent people were wrongly convicted and imprisoned because of failures in bite marks analysis which were weakly supported by the science. Objective: To analyze important issues related to bite marks analysis and to suggest solutions. Conclusion: The bite marks analysis should not be banned from the Forensic Odontology but its use requires caution. The methodologies strongly based in science should be the only ones accepted in the future
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