Prevalence of traumatic orofacial and dental injury in unidentified bodies-Data from a forensic medicine institute in Brazil.

Background/aim: Orofacial trauma and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) are serious public health problems due to their high prevalence, severe morbidity, high costs of treatment, and long-term sequelae. However, the extent of the problem may be underestimated since trauma analysis, from a forensic odontology perspective, is not widely represented in the scientific literature. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of traumatic orofacial injuries (TOI) and TDI in unidentified bodies and their association with the cause of death.

Assessment of accuracy and recognition of three-dimensional computerized forensic craniofacial reconstruction.

Facial reconstruction is a technique that aims to reproduce the individual facial characteristics based on interpretation of the skull, with the objective of recognition leading to identification. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the accuracy and recognition level of three-dimensional (3D) computerized forensic craniofacial reconstruction (CCFR) performed in a blind test on open-source software using computed tomography (CT) data from live subjects. Four CCFRs were produced by one of the researchers, who was provided with information concerning the age, sex, and ethnic group of each subject.

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The aim of this study was to identify the combination of wavelength and filter that best detects tooth and bone, and to determine which biological materials (enamel, dental root or bone) have highest fluorescence intensity when exposed to an alternate light source (ALS). Tooth and bone samples were lighted with ALS and photographed. Adobe Photoshop™ and ImageJ™ softwares were used for image analysis.

Practical Application of Anatomy of the Oral Cavity in Forensic Facial Reconstruction.

The oral cavity's importance in defining the facial region makes it a primary feature for forensic facial reconstruction (FFR). The aim of this study is to construct a pattern of reference for dimensions and proportions of the lips and establish parameters that may help estimate the vermilion borders' height dimensions and the mouth's width. By means of cone beam computed tomography, divided into two samples: sample 1 (n = 322; 137 male, 185 female) verified the linear distances delimited by anatomical landmarks in soft tissue.

An unusual method of forensic human identification: use of selfie photographs.

As with other methods of identification, in forensic odontology, antemortem data are compared with postmortem findings. In the absence of dental documentation, photographs of the smile play an important role in this comparison. As yet, there are no reports of the use of the selfie photograph for identification purposes.

Administrative and clinical denials by a large dental insurance provider.

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and the type of claim denials (administrative, clinical or both) made by a large dental insurance plan. This was a cross-sectional, observational study, which retrospectively collected data from the claims and denial reports of a dental insurance company. The sample consisted of the payment claims submitted by network dentists, based on their procedure reports, reviewed in the third trimester of 2012.

Analysis of the fluorescence of body fluids on different surfaces and times.

The use of screening techniques, such as an alternative light source (ALS), is important for finding biological evidence at a crime scene. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether biological fluid (blood, semen, saliva, and urine) deposited on different surfaces changes as a function of the age of the sample. Stains were illuminated with a Megamaxx™ ALS System and photographed with a Canon EOS Utility™ camera.