Forensic Odontology, "Reset and Reboot"

Gone are the days when teeth were only used to determine
the age of an individual. The stream Forensic
Odontology has expanded its wings not only to nab
a criminal but also to make the bones speak.This is
an evolving branch of science and has immense potential
in the future. Though the science behind the
subject still uses the age old principles but the techniques
bar certainly has been raised. As there is lot
of upgradation worldwide with the involvement of
digitalization, the subject, Forensic odontology also
went through a lot of upgradation to be what we see
the subject today. Apart from determining Age, Sex
and Race of the individual it can now be used to find
out out diet details, occupation, migration history
and cultural history of an individual. With the introduction
of Artificial intelligence and 3D technology
bitemark analysis, age estimation has undergone
drastic changes. The newer methods like 2D and 3D
photogrammetry is involved in better profiling of
an individual. One of the most important aspect of
odontology is to aid in identification, and with the use
of softwares and digital databases, the success rate
has improved. There are certain databases which is
accessible both Intra and Inter countries, specially in
cases of Mass Disasters where victims belong to different
nationalities. This paper will mainly focus on
the recent advances in forensic odontology and the
future scope of the subject.

Author(s): Pooja Chakraborty

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