The Importance of Dental Imaging Examinations in Human Identification: A Systematized Literature Review

Abstract

Imaging is a facilitating tool in the process of human identification. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematized literature review regarding articles that use imaging examinations as a means of identification in forensic dental examinations. For this purpose, scientific articles published in the PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, LILACS, and COCHRANE databases were selected using the following descriptors: “Radiology”, “Tomography”, “x-ray computed”, and “Forensic anthropology”. These descriptors were associated through Boolean operators, reaching a total of 1,831 articles. After selection based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, title and abstract analysis, removal of duplicates, animal studies, and articles published more than ten years ago, 30 articles were selected. Among these, it was possible to observe a higher prevalence of studies involving the mandible (26.6%) and frontal sinus (26.6%). Regarding imaging examinations, computed tomography was predominantly used (76.6%), especially cone beam computed tomography and multislice computed tomography. Identification through imaging examinations is possible due to the number of unique pieces of information they provide. Furthermore, the ease of obtaining comparative samples further enhances their applicability. Therefore, the use of imaging for legal purposes is effective, presents low cost, and offers a good margin of reliability, since it works with highly individualized characteristics.

Keywords

Radiologia
Tomografia computadorizada por raios x
Antropologia forense
Radiology
Computed Tomography
Forensic Anthropology
Radiología
Tomografía Computarizada
Antropología Forense

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