Forensic odontology is a growing branch of dentistry which deals with the identification of individuals from mass disasters with help of comparison of antemortem (AM) and postmortem data. The dental tissue is one of the most durable organs in the human body which is preserved even after when the deceased person is skeletonized, decomposed, or burnt. Forensic odontology also plays a role in the assessment of cases of child abuse, sexual assault, and age estimation. This article deals with the importance of collection of AM data in forensic odontology and the current trend in India.

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Context: Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a social malady that is gaining much importance in the present world. Studies had been conducted to assess the knowledge about CAN among parents, teachers, and medical professionals. However, there is a paucity of literature about the knowledge and awareness among children regarding this social problem. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and awareness regarding CAN among schoolchildren in Puducherry. Subjects and Methods: A structured questionnaire with nine questions regarding CAN was distributed among children from two schools, aged 10–15 years, in Puducherry. The data from filled questionnaires were analyzed using the SPSS software. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation test. Results: Majority of the children were aware of the acts constituting CAN. A positive correlation was seen between the age of children and awareness of CAN. Furthermore, the girls had better knowledge about CAN when compared to boys. Conclusions: Although the children had a good knowledge about CAN, further studies have to be conducted to generalize these findings in Puducherry.

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Background: Mandibular canines exhibit greatest sexual dimorphism compared other teeth in the oral cavity. Morphometry of Mandibular Canine plays a major role in sex determination in case of mass disaster. Aim: This study was aimed to compare mesiodistal canine measurements in male and female. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted among 100 undergraduate dental study with 50 male and 50 female participants. A study model of the mandibular arch were made and the canine measurements (MCI) were obtained using a divider and ruler. Results: There was a significant difference in the mesiodistal and intercanine width of right and left canine among males and females. The mean difference in mandibular canine index was highly significant among gender and on both sides (right and left). Conclusion: Determination of gender by mesiodistal measurement of mandibular canines is a relatively quick, easy, and inexpensive method and can aid in identifying persons from fragmented jaws and dental remains.

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Context: This comparative study was conducted in the field of forensic odontology for sex determination. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of an odontometric method and a radiographic method for sex determination. Settings and Design: The study was conducted in the department of oral medicine and radiology on 100 participants (52 males and 48 females) with an age range of 20–36 years. Subjects and Methods: Both methods were applied on each participant, and the data were collected. After obtaining the data (casts and radiographs), they were coded, analyzed, decoded, interpreted, and statistically analyzed. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were entered into MS Excel and then analyzed with SPSS version 19. Analysis was done in two parts. Part 1 dealt with descriptive statistics and Part 2 dealt with inferential statistics. Results: In the present study, when both the parameters were compared, mesiobuccal–distolingual diagonal diameter showed the maximum accuracy of 92% followed by distobuccal–mesiolingual diagonal diameter with an accuracy of 91%, while area and perimeter of the maxillary sinus had an accuracy of 80%, and 76%, respectively. Conclusions: Odontometric method is more reliable and accurate than radiographic method for determination of sex.

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Background: The role of the forensic odontologist is to establish a person's identity. Teeth, with their physiologic variations, pathoses, and effects of therapy, record information that remains throughout life and beyond. The comparison of the facial profile from dental morphometrics has been a subject of great interest in forensic odontology. H. Pound's formula and Berry's formula are few methods used to determine the size of maxillary central incisors. Objective: The aim of this study is to suggest a novel approach in identifying a potential suspect or victim by determining the facial parameters (bizygomatic width and facial length) using the mesiodistal dimensions of maxillary central incisors. Materials and Methods: This study included sample size n = 200 participants, of which 100 participants were male and 100 were female. The width of maxillary central incisors of all the participants was measured. The values were incorporated in the Berry's biometric index and Pound's formula to determine the bizygomatic width and facial length (estimated values) Bizygomatic width and facial length of all the participants were also measured in actual values. These values were then compared. Results: The difference between actual and estimated values in regard to bizygomatic width was 0.01 in males and 0.02 in females, whereas the difference in facial length values was 0.03 in males and 0.02 in females. Conclusion: Logistic regression was used (instead of made write used) to predict the probability of the parameters most likely to be reproduced in the creation of the facial profile based on tooth morphometrics. The results indicated a definite correlation between the facial and the tooth parameters and the role of formulas in facial parameter construction. Thus, this method can be developed as a new tool and can be applied in future disaster victim identification operation.

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Background: Sex determination is one of the key tools used by forensic odontologists for identification of mass disaster victims. Teeth are the hardest structure in the body that will resist biological, chemical, and mechanical degradation for a considerable period of time. Aims: This study was aimed at establishing sexual dimorphism in maxillary canine tooth parameters among the Northeastern Nigerian population in the University of Maiduguri and to compare the percentage of sexual dimorphism with ethnic populations. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 208 students consisting of 102 males and 106 females of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The measurements of the greatest mesiodistal (MD) width of the maxillary canine and the intercanine distance were done using the Vernier caliper with a resolution of 0.02 mm and a divider with a fixing device. Results: It was observed that in all the maxillary parameters considered, males tend to have statistically significant higher mean value compared to the female counterpart. Left maxillary canine width exhibited a higher percentage of sexual dimorphism among the parameters measured. Conclusion: The MD and intercanine distance in maxillary canine were sexually dimorphic among the students of the University of Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria.

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Background: Growth rate is diverse for different ethnic groups, and for this reason, studies are required to be population specific. To solve controversial identification issues in future, sexual dimorphism in cases of imaging of frontal sinus among the Eastern Indian population needs to be tested. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine sex by studying computed tomography (CT) scan images of the frontal sinus, using discriminant function analysis. Methodology: We scanned 90 subjects, comprising 30 males and 60 females in the age bracket of 18 and 60 years using the CT scan in the Indian (Bengali) population. Results: The Wilks' lambda for the model is 0.459 which signifies a good discriminating power of the model. The discriminant function equation is, Df = 0.04 Width + 0.221 Depth + 0.185 Height + 0.059 Frontal Distance −5.574 (constant). Overall, 86.7% of the samples were correctly classified into their group by this model. Conclusion: This study shows that the accuracy rate of the prediction model for sex estimation using only frontal sinus is average. Further studies are required to conclude that this function can be used for forensic sex determination among the Eastern Indian (Bengali) population.

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Background: Chronological age determination is one of the most challenging tasks for forensic experts and anthropologists using living humans or skeletal remaining. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the chronological age by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) (three-dimensional) analysis of the mental foramen among the South Indian population. Methodology: A total of 115 individuals' CBCT images were used for analysis. Space from the superior border of the mental foramen to the lower border of the mandible (SLM) and the inferior border of the mental foramen to the lower border of the mandible (ILM) was analyzed by three examiners and recorded. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics, ANOVA test, and Tukey's post hoc analysis were utilized for statistical comparisons. Results: The mean age of included 115 (male: 66 and female: 49) participants was 40.96 ± 0.5. The mean distance of SLM and ILM among 18–20, 21–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60, and 61–70 years' age group participants exhibited statistically significance in the right (P = 0.01 and 0.016) and left (P = 0.001 and 0.001) sides, respectively. Conclusion: Distance from the mental foramen to the lower border of the mandible remains constant throughout the lifetime, and the measurement is not significant clinically even though it displays statistical significance.

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Background: Age is considered an important parameter used in the personal identification of deceased or missing or live individuals. A number of researches have been done on age estimation, and these studies proved to be beneficial demonstrating various degrees of precision, accuracy, and reliability. Teeth are the most common material used nowadays for the estimation of age as they can be preserved for longer time after all the body tissues have disintegrated. Aim: This study aimed to device a method for interpreting the chronological age by correlating age and pulp length/tooth length ratio in the mandibular canine. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 120 extracted permanent mandibular canines were included from individuals with known age (between the age group of 20 and 50 years) and sex. The unsectioned method was adopted to measure the pulp length/tooth length ratio. Digital Vernier caliper was used to measure the maximum tooth length, and K-file was used to measure the maximum pulp length. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance test for continuous variables and unpaired t-test for unmatched variables. Results: Appreciable difference was seen in all the parameters such as pulp length/tooth length ratio of all the samples, having different age without any significant difference between the genders. With ascending age, gradual reduction in pulp size was observed when compared to total pulp length and cervical pulp width, depicting outstanding correlation with the chronological age. Conclusion: As teeth could be retained in the original form for a long period, dental age assessment is of use in normal day-to-day life and mass disasters. The results and observations depicted that, with advancing age, the length of the dental pulp chamber decreases vertically as well as horizontally as a result of secondary dentin deposition. However, these variables could not differentiate between genders. Thus, assessment of pulp length/tooth length ratio on the mandibular canine using odontometric procedure manually without any sophisticated instruments can be used as an alternative method to estimate the nearest chronological age with reasonable accuracy when radiographs are not available.

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