Identifying murder victims with endodontic radiographs

This study illustrates the interface between endodontics and forensic odontology describing three cases of human identification based on radiographic endodontic records. From 2009 to 2012, three unknown male victims of murder were examined in a local Brazilian medico-legal institute to retrieve identity and potential cause of death. Specifically, when asked for AM data, a relative of the three victims provided periapical radiographs of endodontic treatments. Based on that, forensic dentists reproduced the same imaging acquisition techniques obtaining similar periapical radiographs, enabling a comparative dental identification. All the victims were positively identified based on patterns of dental morphology and treatment intervention. This study draws the attention of general and forensic dentists highlight the importance of properly recording dental treatments and searching for evidence in AM endodontic data, respectively.

Source: Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences - December 4, 2016 Category: Dentistry Authors: Rhonan Ferreira Silva Ademir Franco Solon Diego Santos Carvalho Mendes Fernando Fortes Picoli Fernando Gomes Nunes Carlos Estrela Source Type: research