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Background: Forensic odontology is a branch of forensic medicine that deals with the proper handling, examination, and presentation of dental evidence, dental surgeon playing a role in crime investigation, identification of the victim, criminal or the method in it. It pays special emphasis on the use of ante- and post-mortem dental records to identify crime victims or accidents that are required for medico legal cases. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the awareness of the dental fraternity towards the subject & scope of improvement. Materials and Method: A questionnaire was prepared consisting of 15 questions, all related to the field of forensic odontology. The sample consisted of 100 individuals from dental fraternity divided in four groups. Results and Observations: The participants were assessed on Awareness, Knowledge & Eagerness. Conclusion: This vital and integral field, in spite of efforts, is still in the state of infancy in India.

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Background: The size of the posterior tooth crown is defined by the number and size of the cusps and the dimensions in both the mesiodistal and buccolingual planes. Aim and Objective: The present study was designed to explore the variations in such parameters between genders. Material and Methods: The dental models of 151 young individuals in the age range of 17–21 years were randomly selected. The crown and cusp dimensions and the number of cusps in mandibular first and second premolars and in maxillary second molars on both the sides were recorded. Results: The mandibular first premolars showed 97.35% symmetry in the number of cusps between antemers followed by maxillary second molar (88.1%) and mandibular second premolar (82.78%). The mesiodistal and the buccolingual dimensions of the crown in all the three teeth showed significant gender difference. In the maxillary second molar, only the mesiobuccal cusp in the left side showed significant gender difference. In the three cusped second molars, the lingual cusp dimensions showed significant gender difference. The discriminant model using the BL and MD dimensions of all the three teeth showed a canonical correlation of 0.722 (Wilks' lambda = 0.479, P < 0.001) with a hit ratio of 90.1%. The classification results showed that 84.1% of the males and 95.1% of females were correctly predicted using this model. The cusp number traits can significantly differentiate genders with a discriminating power of 61%. Conclusion: The metric data, especially the mesiodistal and the buccolingual dimensions from mandibular premolars and maxillary second molars, can better differentiate gender than the cusp number traits.

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Context: Adolescent maltreatment is a state of mental, physical, economic, and sexual abuse experienced by a person under the age of 18 and is a crime that prevails globally. Aims: The aim of this online study was to evaluate the level of awareness and epidemiology of young generation of rural region toward adolescent maltreatment at Kanpur rural region, which can be used as a guideline for planning future interventions. Settings and Design: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional online study. Subjects and Methods: The study was done on 545 rural secondary school adolescent in 1 month period, using a standardized self-administered questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software and appropriate statistical tests and logistic regression analysis. Chi-square was applied, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among 545 adolescent (60%) were boys. The most common domains of adolescent maltreatment among female adolescent were neglect (29.5%), psychological (39%), physical (17.9%), and sexual (16.1%), and among male adolescent, these were neglect (36.8%), psychological (26.9%), physical (24.2%), and sexual (6.2%). Demographic variables included substance abuse of parents, father's education, parents living status, and having other jobs, which were significantly related variables to adolescent maltreatment and neglect (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Adolescent maltreatment and neglect challenges in India need to be considered carefully and widely, particularly among the underprivileged, disadvantaged, and socioeconomically backward populations of rural communities where adolescent protection systems are not fully established.

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Introduction: Reliable age estimation at the death of human remains is considered crucial to interpret osteological data. In addition to gender, age is an essential basic biological parameter which facilitates the identification of human remains in forensic and palaeodemographic contexts. It is also well established that the use of morphological characteristics of the teeth is considered to help more reliable age estimates than most of the other methods as the teeth are sometimes the only skeletal remains to be used for the estimation of age if the skeletons are highly damaged. Aim: The aim of the present study is to propose a method for assessing the chronological age based on the relationship between age and measurement of pulp/tooth area ratio (AR) on canine teeth using digital orthopantomographs for a Sri Lankan population. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of orthopantomographs (OPGs) of 231 subjects (113 males and 118 females) aged 17–76 years. The AR of upper and lower canines was calculated according to the reported technique, and statistical analysis was performed to obtain multiple regression formulae for dental age calculation, with chronological age as the dependent variable, and gender, left and right side of upper and lower canines as independent variables. Results: The AR between right and left canine teeth of maxilla and mandible shows no statistically significant difference and also no significant effect of gender on all regression models. Furthermore, as the intercept and slope of all regression equations show highly significant consistency in predicting the chronological age any permanent canine tooth of the dentition can be used with high reliability for the estimation of age. Mean prediction errors of the present study were 0.16 years and 0.21 years, respectively, for right and left mandibular canines and 0.10 years and 0.15 years, respectively, for right and left maxillary canines and confirms the high reliability and accuracy in the prediction of age. Conclusion: The result of the present study shows that estimating the age using the formulae is highly reliable and accurate, and intercept and slope of the formulae are different in each population group.

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Background: The dental arch form is underappreciated in establishing human identity. Most of the time, the teeth are considered, although the arch form can disclose a great deal about a person's profile. Aim: The aim is to determine the morphological variability in the arch form of an individual's maxilla and mandible. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that was conducted in 219 dental casts made for various dental treatment purposes at the Tribhuvan University Dental Teaching Hospital, Institute of Medicine, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal. The study was conducted over 6 months from January 1, 2021, to July 31, 2021. The arch form was categorized into oval, square, and tapering. Results: The average age of the individuals was 20.71 ± 4.66 for males and 19.25 ± 5.18 for females. The oval arch form was more common in both the jaws, with 38.81% and 63.93% in the maxilla and mandible, respectively, followed by square and tapered forms. Conclusion: The morphological variability of an individual's arch form is astounding. This can be used to limit down the search in human identification. Although it may not be able to establish identification, it can be a useful tool for narrowing down the options throughout the scientific identification process.

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Objectives: The present study was carried out on dental panoramic images in a group of Sri Lankans to ascertain the mandibular morphometrics, especially in relation to the ramus of the mandible. Methods: A total of 196 dental panoramic images (106 males and 86 females) between the ages of 5 and 87 years were retrieved from the archives in the Division of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Results: Average values for condylar ramus height, coronoid ramus height, upper ramus width, and lower ramus width were higher in males, while average values of gonial angle (GA) and area were higher in females. A significant difference between the right and left sides for upper ramus height, lower ramus height, GA, and the area was not observed (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences between genders for average values for condylar ramus height, coronoid ramus height, upper and lower ramus widths, GA, and area (P > 0.05). However, the significant difference for average condylar ramus height and coronoid ramus height between 17 years or below and above 17 years could be considered a strong predictor for age in the Sri Lankan population. Conclusions: Mandibular ramus measurements using dental panoramic tomography cannot be considered a valuable tool in sex determination in the Sri Lankan population. Condylar and coronoid ramus heights could be considered predictors for assessment of age. Further studies on wider population to assess the significance of these parameters are recommended.

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Objective: This study aimed to determine the palatal intercanine width from deciduous dentition to permanent dentition in 5–16-year-old children. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised 168 children who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were examined. Study models were constructed and maxillary intercanine width was measured using Vernier digital caliper. Results: Statistically significant difference was found in upper intercanine width (UICW) between males and females in primary dentition (P < 0.034). A statistically nonsignificant difference was found in UICW in mixed and permanent dentition. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test and t-test was applied to verify the existence of significant differences between the groups. Conclusion: The present study found that there is a significant increase in intercanine width in upper dental arch from primary dentition to permanent dentition.

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