Importance of diversity in dental pattern for personal identification: A review Mamta1, Mondal PR2,* 1Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi 2Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi *Corresponding Author Dr. Prakash Ranjan Mondal, Email : prmondal1@rediffmail.com
Online published on 16 November, 2023. Abstract Forensic Odontology is a branch of forensic science that has the proficiency to establish a person's identity. The combination of virgin restored, unrestored, missing, filling, impacted, endodontic treatment, and decayed used as dental codes assigned to the specific tooth that encompass the unique dental pattern to determine person identification in single or mass fatality cases. The aim is to assess the accuracy of the diversity of dental patterns using radiographs and non-radiograph dental records and also to generate responsiveness among dentists about their role in human identification and the significance of sustaining complete accurate dental records. The published articles mostly exhibited a high diversity of dental patterns observed for full dentition ranging from 88.8% - 99.92%, for maxilla, 59%- 98.8%, and for mandible 82.00% -92.8% established by the various author depending on the population size. The frequency of virgin teeth was relatively found high in the young as compared to adults (6.67% - 54.90%), the filling of the tooth (7.00% - 11.45%), a crown (1.10%), and impacted third molar (5.33%) that can also be used as the discriminating criterion of education level, socio-economic status of the person. The conclusion demonstrates that the diversity of dental patterns may be a very substantial and valuable tool in human identification not solely in the occurrence of whole teeth, but also in the occurrence of only the maxillary and mandibular teeth records. The excellence, number, and presence or absence of dental treatment can be considered on the person's socioeconomic status and education level. Top Keywords Forensic odontology, Forensic dentistry, Dental patterns diversity, Dental records, Personal identification. Top |