TOPIC: FORENSIC RADIOLOGY
🌟 IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER
🔸Forensic Odontology: It is the element of dental medicine that examines studies and proposes the evidences in court.
🔸Bite-mark Matching: The match made between bite marks and the dental impression of the suspected person is principally based on relationship between the jaws, form and size of arches, missing teeth, spacing between teeth, presence of supernumerary teeth, observed tooth rotations, tooth width and presence of special features, such as fractures and ridges.
🔸Child Abuse : Defined as any non-accidental trauma, neglect, failure of commission or omission, which endangers or impairs a child’s emotional or physical health and development.
🔸Forensic Radiology : Defined as a specialised area of medical imaging which utilises the radiological technique to assist physician and pathologist in matters pertaining to law.
🔸Dental Record: The dental record is also the legal document owned by the dentist and contains subjective and objective information about the patient.
🔸Limitation Of Radiography In Forensic: Any treatment performed between ante-mortem and post-mortem radiographs may limit the accuracy in establishing identity.
🔸Radiography Of Post-mortem Material: It can be done in field (portable X-ray unit with mobile generator will be the only apparatus; the only possible radiographic projection is the anteroposterior view of the skull), in the mortuary or scene of autopsy (anteroposterior view, lateral view, oblique lateral view, occlusal technique) or in the dental surgery or X-ray room (place the specimen in the radiotranslucent plastic bags and immobilise the specimen by using plastic foam pads or cotton-wool rolls as required, oblique lateral radiography and maxillofacial radiography).
🔸Uses Of Forensic Radiology: They are suspicious death or murder, analysis of adverse medical event, legal matter, child abuse, drug trafficking, body identification, disease identification and donor bank analysis.
🔸Post-mortem Radiographic Data: Radiographs provide dental chart that can be compiled with the radiological information regarding the presence, absence and time interval between the loss of a tooth and the death of the person; bone recession and calculus; observed anomalies in the shape, number and position of the teeth; cavities and periapical bone reabsorption; and therapeutic features, such as fillings that appear on the radiographs as radio-opaque or radiolucent. Root fillings, prosthetic appliance and implants can be correctly described.
🔸Ante-mortem Data: Data regarding a missing person, such as dental forms, OPGs, CTs, periapical radiographs, photos and models are usually provided by the dentists.
🔸Matching Process: The American Board of Forensic Odontology recommends that these should be limited to the following four conclusions: positive identification, possible identification, insufficient evidence and exclusion.
📢 Scope Of Forensic Applications In Diagnostic Medical Radiology :
1️⃣ Service
🔺Determination of identification
🔺Evaluation of injury and death
- Accidental
- Non-accidental
– Bone injury
– Missiles and foreign bodies
– Other trauma
– Other causes
🔺Criminal litigations
- Fatal
- Non-fatal
🔺Civil litigations
- Fatal
- Non-fatal
🔺Administrative proceedings
2️⃣ Education
3️⃣ Research
4️⃣ Administration
📌 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS MCQs
💡 In which of the following views is the cassette supported by a sandbag placed parallel to the sagittal plane?
- AP view
- Lateral view
- Oblique lateral view
- Parallel view
Answer: 2
💡 In the occlusal technique for maxilla, the projection of the X-ray beam over the bridge of the nose downward onto the film is at
- 45°
- 90°
- 60°
- 30°
Answer: 3
💡 The horseshoe shape of the mandible makes it important that the film and the area of interest should be
- Perpendicular
- Parallel
- Acute angled
- Obtuse angled
Answer: 2
💡 The water-lodged specimen or cadaver appears
- More radiolucent
- More radio-opaque
- Completely radiolucent
- Does not appear at all
Answer: 2
💡 The kilovoltage and milliamperage range required for the reproduction should be
- 60–65 kVp, 7–10 mA
- 65–70 kVp, 7.5–15 mA
- 70–75 kVp, 4–7 mA
- 90–95 kVp, 3–6 mA
Answer: 2
💡The use of medical radiographs in the forensic study was suggested by
- Lehmer
- Armor and Fredrick
- Beclere and Schuller
- None of the above
Answer: 3
💡 The first dental radiograph was taken in
- 1930
- 1931
- 1932
- 1933
Answer: 3
💡 Teeth are used as an important tool in forensic dentistry as
- Teeth do not compose
- Resistant to damage due to heat
- Resistant to damage due to heat
- All of the above
Answer : 4
💡 Which of the following can be used in forensic identification
- Dental radiographs
- Bite marks
- Dental arch form
- Both a and b
- All of the above all
Answer: 5
📢 Points To Be Considered While Comparing Radiographic Images :
🔺Tooth Type: Permanent, Deciduous, Mixed dentition, Retained primary teeth, Supernumerary teeth
🔺Tooth Position: Malposition, Rotations, Supraeruptions, Infraeruptions, Diastema
🔺Crown Morphology: Size and shape of crowns, Enamel thickness, Cementoenamel junction
🔺Variations (cusps of Carabelli, shovel-shaped incisors, etc.)
🔺Crown Pathology: Caries, Attrition, abrasion, erosion
🔺Apical Variations (e.g. peg laterals, fusion, gemination)
🔺Root Morphology: Size, Shape Number, Divergence of roots
🔺Root Pathology: Dilaceration, Root fracture, Hypercementosis, External /internal root resorption, Root hemisections
🔺Pulp Chamber And Root Canal Morphology : Size, shape, number
🔺Pulp Chamber And Root Canal Pathology : Pulp stones, dystrophic calcification, Root canal therapy, Retrofill procedures, Apicoectomy
🔺Periapical Pathology: Periapical abscesses/granulomas/cysts, Cementomas, Condensing osteitis
🔺Dental Restorations: Metal restorations, Non-metal restorations, Dental implants, Maryland bridges, Partial or fully removable prostheses