This narrative review highlights the role of endodontists and the significance of various dental tools in forensic dentistry. An online search was conducted in peer-reviewed journals, including MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, to retrieve studies regarding \"the role of an endodontist in victim identification using different tools\". The searches used controlled vocabulary and free-text terms. Articles written in English and published from 1923 to 2023 were selected. An essential stage in forensic dentistry is dental identification of the dead person and is regarded as an initial step for both judicial and humanitarian purposes if fingerprint records are missing or the remains have undergone significant changes. Endodontists should be aware of all available dental tools that aid in identification. The four fundamental tools for identification are dental radiographs, hard and soft dental structures, and dental materials. Dental radiographs provide a substantial nondestructive record for estimating age and sex. Moreover, maxillofacial hard and soft structures provide important tools for individual identification as they are considered the strongest structures in the human body and can withstand severe chemical and temperature changes. In addition, endodontic and restorative materials can be identified under different conditions and serve as excellent forensic identification measures.

The use of dental implants has witnessed great popularity in recent years. It has been documented that dental implants are valuable aids in forensic identification. In particular, in the event of mass disasters, where distortion of body features may render the process of forensic identification challenging. The present review aims to explore the application of the use of dental implants in forensic identification. A literature search was performed on PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases. All studies addressing the application of dental implants for forensic identification published in English were eligible for inclusion in the review. This systematic review included a total of 14 articles that demonstrated the significance of dental implants in forensic identification. Three studies reported the use of dental implants in the process of identification of the deceased, one of which found the distance of the implant from the maxillary sinus was a pathognomonic feature of identity. Four studies conducted incineration experiments to assess dental implant characteristics following incineration. The studies identified the batch number and characteristic threads and grooves on dental implants despite incineration. The remaining studies evaluated the role of radiological assessment in identification. The findings of the aforementioned studies highlighted the benefits of radiologic imaging in identification. Dental implants carry extreme significance in forensic identification owing to their durability and ability to withstand extreme temperatures. This process can be further enhanced by the implementation of advanced technology in forensic cases.

Two onboard crew members lost their lives in the fatal Makalu Air Cessna Grand Caravan 208B domestic cargo flight crash on May 16, 2018. The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) procedure comprises external examination, photography, DNA collection, fingerprint collection, postmortem examination, antemortem information collection from the family members, and reconciliation. The major challenge of this operation was dealing with cognitive bias. The antemortem dental information of one of the deceased was revealed to the forensic experts just before the postmortem examination. This influenced the testing strategies. There was a tendency to neglect the complete dental examination presuming the identification was established. Later, during a thorough examination, the forensic odontologist realised that the initial decision was erroneous. Furthermore, there are few experience-based resources available to resolve cognitive bias issues. The authors begin by summarising complicated operations in which they have been involved, followed by a discussion of the key sources of cognitive bias along with the solution to resolve these issues in DVI preparedness planning.

UNASSIGNED: Natural disasters occur frequently in Japan. A disaster medical system was rapidly developed in Japan following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. Dentistry has become increasingly important in disaster medicine. This review summarizes the roles of dental professionals in disaster medicine, highlights relevant issues, and identifies new directions for research to improve disaster relief activities based on our previous experiences as dental professionals supporting the victims of major disasters.
UNASSIGNED: Many preventable deaths after a disaster are caused by aspiration pneumonia, which occurs against a background of factors that are compounded by a harsh living environment. An important aim of dental care in disaster medicine is to prevent these disaster-related deaths in vulnerable persons such as the elderly. This can be achieved through interventions to maintain oral hygiene, preserve and enhance oral function (i.e., chewing and swallowing), and improve the diet, since these interventions help to prevent the development of malnutrition and frailty in vulnerable people. Dental identification of disaster victims could be improved through the use of intraoral three-dimensional scanners and artificial intelligence to automate the acquisition of dental findings and through the construction of a national database of digitized dental records. Advances in personal identification methods will be needed given the prediction that a catastrophic earthquake will occur on the Nankai Trough during the next 30 years and claim more victims than the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
UNASSIGNED: Disaster-related deaths due to aspiration pneumonia can be prevented by providing appropriate dental care to those in need. The process of identifying victims could be made more efficient through the use of intraoral three-dimensional scanning, artificial intelligence, and a digital database of dental records. Establishing and strengthening relationships between professionals in different regions will help to optimize the multidisciplinary response to future large-scale disasters.

This study aimed to summarize the characteristics of unidentified cases in which dental information was collected during 2014-2019 in Miyagi Prefecture and to discuss the challenges and social characteristics of dental identification in routine forensic work. Cases were selected and examined from the database of dental charts collected at Tohoku University and the database of the Miyagi Prefectural Police. The annual percentage of cases with matched dental findings ranged from 19.2 - 37.1%, and 80.6% of the cases were identified within four days using dental information. The most common age group was the 50-70 s. Males were more common in the 20-70 s, whereas females were more frequent in the 80-90 s age group. Utilization of dental information was lower for cases involving young people and those over 90 years of age. The number of unidentified cases and unspecified death cases in the central block was significantly higher than other regions. However, there were no significant differences in sex, age, and season between each region. Spearman\'s rank-order analysis of the unspecified deaths showed a strong correlation with the monthly average temperature (ρ = 0.89, p < 0.01). Within the limitations of this study, the results provide valuable information on the long-term progress of routine dental identification work and could be useful as a reference for a statistical survey. Future research must examine the role of dental information in forensic identification by exploring the role of more specific background characteristics among autopsy cases.

Victim identification following disasters is an important task for the dentist. Use of records of previous dental treatment proved effective in victim identification after the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 in 1985. This dental identification procedure can be problematic, however. In exceptional cases, the victim may have had very little or no prior treatment, making identification by this means impossible. The purpose of this study was to establish a new method of dental identification based on morphological comparison of the oral cavity, rather than on evidence of prior dental treatment. This new method involves superimposing 3-dimensional (3-D) models created by digital impression-taking devices, use of which is becoming increasingly widespread in present-day dental treatment. A total of 75 dental models were used to obtain 3-D models. These were then used in a total of 77 superimposition tests. The results demonstrated that the degree of similarity was 98.03－41.30%, and the degree of difference 0.17－29.69%. This indicated that differences among the dental models could be identified with 100% precision. Personal identification by superimposition of such 3-D models offers a useful tool that could compensate for the shortcomings of standard dental identification.

UNASSIGNED: Dental identification is a frequently applied method of forensic investigation, in mass disasters, accidents, and criminal investigations, where the human remains are decomposed, charred, or skeletonized. However, in such events, teeth may dislodge due to postmortem loss or mishandling during transporting and packaging which may further hamper with the identification of an individual.
UNASSIGNED: To investigate the potential for reconstruction of missing teeth utilizing dental materials.
UNASSIGNED: Impressions of the intra-alveolar morphology of the empty sockets of a mandible were taken utilizing different impression materials. Positive replicas were prepared, and the profile of the missing/absent dental roots and crowns was constructed. Standardized radiographs were taken to assess the reliability of the method.
UNASSIGNED: Based on the subjective observation, the combination of light body and heavy body (Putty)-addition silicone (for negative replica), self-cure (pink-colored) resin (for positive replica), and flowable composite resin (for reconstruction) gave the best outcome among the materials used.
UNASSIGNED: Tooth reconstruction utilizing dental materials that may help in comparative identification.

The present study was conducted to improve human identification based on dental pattern with adopting chronology of dental treatment within the system. Five hundred adult patients were randomly selected, and their initial and recent panoramic radiography images were assumed as antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) images, respectively. For each radiographic image, the dental pattern was analyzed. The analysis system was newly developed considering sequence of dental treatment in time order. AM and PM databases were constructed with information of dental patterns, patient age, and gender. For the PM database, age information was stored as the actual age ± 10 years, which was defined as the estimated age. According to dental pattern of PM record, the possible AM records were selected as candidates. Then candidates were sorted in order of dental pattern similarity to the PM record, and the rank of the true AM record was identified. The total 500 AM records were reduced to 14.5 ± 13.4 candidates in average when the dental pattern, gender, and estimated age were considered. When the candidates were sorted in order of similarity, the true AM record received an average ranking of 2.0 ± 2.6. When dental pattern and gender were considered, 46.7 ± 42.3 candidates were selected among 500 records and the true AM record was ranked at 3.0 ± 5.0, in average. The dental pattern analysis adopting dental treatment chronology was contributed to reduce the sample population. This method would become more efficient and comprehensive if the dental pattern analysis process is automatized in the near future.

From the 19th century, society has been aided by Forensic Odontology and the teaching practice has rapidly expanded in the last 30 years. Information about academics and teaching topics can be found in literature but any research has never investigated the basic profile of lecturers by survey. The aim of this study was to explore the lecturers\' opinions on teaching the subject in the 21st century and its current standing. Even though the number of forensic dentists is not low worldwide, not all are involved with teaching. A total of 36 dentists (26 males, 10 females) from 19 countries answered to a survey of eight-questions. Results showed a high prevalence of males (84.6% postgraduate) as opposed of 100% of women postgraduate. Forensic \'dental identification\', \'overview of forensic dentistry\' and \'DVI\' were topics widely taught and \'bite mark analysis\' was considered the most difficult one. The \'lack of funding\' was the greatest limitation (36.1%) followed by \'lack of recognition and case work\' (equally 30.6%). Past problems continue to jeopardize this field and forensic dental bodies should formally liaise with universities and dental councils for the complete expansion of it.

Social media applications can be valuable investigative tools in the search for missing and unidentified persons. As yet, no forensic App exists with the aim of assisting the human identification process, through the search of antemortem data to be used as adjunct data in the comparison with postmortem data collected. The aim of this article is to introduce a new application for Smartphones called \"Selfie Forensic ID\" App which will employ selfie and face photographs as an archive of dental data and dental features of the front teeth of missing persons sharing with Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter Social Networks (available for free download from both Android and Apple store at http://onelink.to/selfieforensic). Features such as diastema rotated or wrongly positioned teeth, lip anomalies, recognizable fixed prosthetics, dental crown discolorations, dental or cutis piercing could represent strong identifiers in the comparison of AM and PM data. The increased number of terrorist attacks and natural disasters which result in the premature death of innocent people underlines the importance of storing personal identification data to avoid bodies remaining unidentified. The authors believe there will be an increased public willingness to share personal ID information through understanding of the ethical and administrative consequences to the families of deceased persons should bodies remain unidentified.