Swift and accurate disaster victim identification (DVI) is essential for medicolegal closure and repatriation of remains. Dental comparison is one of three primary identification methods recognized by The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and is conducted by forensic odontologists, often by matching antemortem and postmortem intraoral radiographs. However, obtaining postmortem intraoral images can sometimes be challenging (e.g., from burn victims) and in those cases extraoral methods, especially computed tomography (CT), could be an alternative. This study uses conventional panoramic radiographs (PRs) to simulate CT-reconstructed PRs which are increasingly used in forensic scenarios, where traditional intraoral postmortem imaging is challenging. The aim is to assess the accuracy in comparative dental identification by different professionals when comparing antemortem intraoral radiographs to postmortem PRs. In this retrospective study, intraoral radiographs and PRs from 30 patients were used to simulate a closed disaster event with 25 deceased and 30 possible missing persons. Twenty-five observers from four professional groups-eight oral radiology specialists (ORs), three forensic odontologists (FOs), six dentists trained in the basics of DVI (DVI-D), and eight dental students (DS) - matched PRs, serving as simulated postmortem radiographs, to antemortem intraoral radiographs using a comparative method. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests. FOs and ORs achieved 100% accuracy, while DS and DVI-D had accuracy rates of 98.5% and 94.7%, respectively. Fillings were the most commonly used radiographic feature for matching. Confidence levels, ranging from "no match" to "established", differed, with 96% of ORs and 92% of FOs selecting established matches compared with 67% of DS and 51% of DVI-D. Conventional PRs can be used for accurate matching in dental identification, particularly when interpreted by experienced observers. FOs and ORs had significantly higher matching accuracy and confidence, emphasizing the critical importance of observer experience; these findings support that ORs may be an asset in DVI operations.
BACKGROUND:Forensic anthropology frequently utilizes mandibular features to establish biological sex. The mandible, being the most resilient cranial bone, demonstrates marked sexual dimorphism. Among its indices, the gonial and antegonial angles have emerged as reliable parameters for sex differentiation. With digital imaging widely available, open-source tools such as GIMP allow precise, reproducible, and cost-effective morphometric analysis of orthopantomograms (OPGs). MATERIALS AND METHODS:This cross-sectional study analyzed 500 archived OPGs (250 males, 250 females; age 20-40 years) from AIIMS Nagpur. In orthopantogram, gonial and antegonial angles were measured bilaterally using GIMP (v2.10.34). Statistical analyses were conducted with Jamovi (v2.6). RESULTS:Females exhibited significantly larger gonial (130.80° ± 5.35) and antegonial (167.85° ± 2.15) angles compared to males (123.03° ± 5.43 and 162.69° ± 2.12, respectively; p <0.001). Regression analysis confirmed significant dimorphism, even after adjusting for age. Discriminant function analysis demonstrated that both angles contributed positively to sex classification, yielding a robust predictive model. No significant sex-related differences were observed in age group distribution (χ² = 0.812, df = 2, p = 0.666). CONCLUSION:Mandibular gonial and antegonial angles measured from OPGs using GIMP demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism in the 20-40-year age group. Females consistently displayed larger angular values, supporting their diagnostic value for sex estimation. These findings underscore the relevance of digital radiography and open-source analysis in forensic anthropology, orthodontics, and maxillofacial surgery.
Age estimation can be carried out through dental methods to determine whether an individual has attained legal majority. The aim of the study was to apply the methods proposed by Caggiano et al. (2022) based on Demirjian et al. (1973) stages and Cameriere et al. (2008), to third molars to estimate the legal age of 18 years, through the evaluation of panoramic radiographs in a Brazilian sample. The final sample of this study comprised 270 radiographs, including 188 from females and 82 from males, belonging to individuals aged between 16.00 and 23.99 years. After data collection, the information was organized in Microsoft Excel© spreadsheets and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The method proposed by Caggiano et al. (2022) method based on Demirjian et al. (1973) stages, proved to be more sensitive than specific. In contrast, the method proposed by Cameriere et al. (2008) showed the opposite pattern, demonstrating greater specificity than sensitivity. It can be concluded that the results showed moderate accuracy for both methods.
Age assessment in living individuals is an important question of legal and humanitarian decision-making when reliable identification documents are unavailable. The IOFOS Recommendations for Quality Assurance: Dental Age Assessment in Living Individuals were developed to provide standardized guidance for forensic dental age assessment and have undergone successive revisions over time in response to scientific, methodological, ethical, and legal developments. The most recent revision, completed in January 2026, reflects updated evidence, accumulated practical experience, and evolving international standards. These recommendations define minimum requirements for case documentation, clinical and radiological examination, method selection, use of population-appropriate reference data, uncertainty estimation, and reporting practices. Particular emphasis is placed on transparency, quality assurance, protection of individual rights, and the legal implications associated with age thresholds, especially the determination of minority or majority. The revised recommendations are intended to serve as an international reference framework for dental age assessment in living individuals, to be adapted and integrated into national legal and regulatory systems in accordance with jurisdiction-specific requirements.
PURPOSE:In the realm of forensic science, the Post Mortem Interval (PMI) is a critical component that determines the time that has passed since the person's physiological death. Although techniques exist to precisely determine the PMI, the results are often unreliable. Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcriptional factor, and in hypoxic conditions, HIF-1α protein is expressed after proteosomal degradation and ubiquitination pathway involving von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL). The aim of the study was to assess HIF-1α mRNA expression in human gingival tissues at different PMIs. METHODS:Gum tissues were collected from cadavers at three definite intervals, namely short PMI (SPMI), medium PMI (MPMI), and long PMI (LPMI). The relative fold change in gene expression of HIF-1α was studied by RT PCR. Histopathological analysis of the tissue samples was done to determine the PMI. RESULTS:In the case of short PMI (SPMI), the relative fold change in gene expression of HIF-1α is 26.90 ± 23.62. However, in the medium PMI (MPMI) and long PMI (LPMI), the relative fold change in gene expression decreased to 6.32 ± 10.90 and 5.33 ± 8.12, respectively. Histopathological analysis of the post mortem samples revealed less necrosis in SPMI than LPMI. Inflammatory cell infiltration is more in SPMI than MPMI, with their notable absence in LPMI. Ulceration was prominent in LPMI. Destructive vasculitis was visible in SPMI and MPMI. Cystic changes were increased in MPMI and LPMI. CONCLUSION:Combined gene expression of HIF-1α and histopathological analysis is a good option for determination of PMI.
