Forensic Odontology as a Public Health Tool: Integrating Identification, Safeguarding, and Data Governance | Chapter 7 | Medical Science: Updates and Prospects Vol. 1

 

Forensic odontology operates at the nexus of health systems and justice, where population-level outcomes—dignified disaster victim identification, timely safeguarding of vulnerable groups, and resilient data infrastructures—depend on how dental information is captured, curated, and interpreted. This review synthesises contemporary evidence on the public health functions of forensic odontology and delineates methodological and governance priorities for the next decade. The study explores the advances in disaster victim identification, emphasising how high-quality ante-mortem records, digital intraoral scans, cone-beam CT, and 2D–3D superimposition can accelerate reconciliations and reduce family uncertainty during mass fatality incidents. It also examines age-estimation practices, highlighting the usefulness of third-molar maturation alongside the real risk of misclassification near legal thresholds, and outlines safeguards for probabilistic reporting and multidisciplinary oversight. This study also assesses the field’s contribution to violence prevention and response, including the detection and documentation of orofacial signs of child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking within trauma-informed care pathways. Community-facing preparedness measures—such as standardised denture marking in long-term care—are discussed as low-cost identification adjuncts. Across domains, the review underscores three imperatives: strict validation with transparent error reporting, privacy-preserving and interoperable data systems linked to missing-person workflows, and workforce development that embeds disaster readiness and safeguarding into dental education and continuing professional development. Equity considerations run throughout, with recommendations for scalable models suited to resource-limited settings and for international collaboration to bolster surge capacity. The review concludes that forensic odontology yields measurable public health benefits when practised within evidence-based protocols and robust governance, and it cautions against techniques that lack a scientific foundation. Limitations include its narrative scope and heterogeneity in study designs and legal frameworks, which may affect generalizability.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Indrapriyadharshini
Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences, Chinnakolambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/msup/v1/6610

Assessment of Digital Panoramic Radiographs in Saudi Population: A Study based on Kvaal's Method | Chapter 11 | Research Developments in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 10

 This study aims to use Kvaal's procedure to estimate the chronological age of inmates using digital sweeping radiographs and verify the lawfulness of regression equatings proposed by Kvaal et al. in the Saudi state. In forensic skill, age estimation, specifically age estimation utilizing dentition, plays a significant act in identifying unknown human parties. The emergence of second molars is idea to have been secondhand by the Romans to assess smell of an odor eligibility. Kvaal and others. published a new approach for canny the chronological age of individuals established the age-pulp size connection on periapical dental radiographs in 1995. Digital panoramic radiographs are usually employed in dental practice because they stop blame and grant pardon the acquisition of pictures of six dentition in one beam. There was no statistical difference middle from two points the assessed and sequential ages when the Kvaal approach was applied to Saudi appendages. A total of 74 digital orthopantomograms were randomly picked from Qassim University dental clinic in Saudi Arabia, grazing in age from 18 to 64 years (mean age 32 age). The radiographs were taken in between 2018-2021 in accordance with inclusion and expulsion criteria. Age estimation accompanying dental radiographs, in particular, is noninvasive and maybe utilized for two together the living and the dead. Most age estimations based on dental radiographs employ the decrease in pulp crater due to developing, as described by Kvaal and others. utilizing periapical radiograph. As per this inspection, a future examination endure utilize an prodigious example size accompanying a good portrayal of tests from various age groups, nationalities, and genders.6

Author(s) Details:

Hosam Samir Alharbi,
Qassim University, Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad Majed Alharbi,
Qassim University, Saudi Arabia.

K. Shaul Hameed,
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Science, College of Dentistry, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Ramy Elmoazen,
School of Computing, Eastern Finland University, Saudi Arabia.

Abdulmajeed Obaid Alenazi,
Mustaqbal University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RDMMS-V10/article/view/10682