A study to determine the validity of mesiodistal dimensions of anterior teeth in dental identification

Abstract

Identification of deceased individuals is usually the most frequent role of a forensic dentist. The importance of teeth in human identification is well documented and established; however, there is a need for a simple method of identification to make dental identification more practical and user-friendly. The mesiodistal dimensions of teeth have been studied by various researchers in forensic dentistry, but none of these studies have used these measurements as an identification tool. This study was intended to find if mesiodistal dimensions can be used as an identification tool. A sample of 70 patients was taken, and mesiodistal diameter (m-d) of each tooth was obtained with digital calipers. A universal sequence for the mesiodistal widths of all anteriors was compared with the sequences obtained from the sample casts to check for uniqueness. The sequence of each sampling unit was significantly different from the universal sequence, as well as from each other. None of the sequences in the given data were similar to one another, and hence, we concluded that such a sequence can be used to identify an individual. Mesiodistal dimensions of teeth have been used in forensic dentistry for gender discrimination and as indicators of ancestry. Mesiodistal dimensions were utilized in our study to make a sequence which can be used to identify an individual. The use of dental metrics as a sequence for identification has been done for the first time ever, and the results suggest that this can be a very useful tool for dental identification.