Gorza Ludovica, Mânica Scheila
Centre for Forensic and Legal Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Dundee, 3 Cross Row, Dundee, DD1 5HG, UK.
Centre for Forensic and Legal Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Dundee, 3 Cross Row, Dundee, DD1 5HG, UK.
Forensic Sci Int. 2018 Aug;289:337-343. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
Forensic dentistry plays a major role in human identification. Teeth carry individual characteristics that differ among different individuals. Dental radiographs depict reality objectively, being the most reliable tool for dental identification. The first aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of dental identification of individuals with permanent unrestored teeth by visual comparison with radiographs of mixed dentition. The second aim was to learn which anatomical features were compared by examiners with different backgrounds. A total of 19 forensic experts participated in a web-based questionnaire to assess identification of 12 simulated cases; each case required the radiographic comparison of 1 dental PM radiograph to 3 dental AM radiographs, of which only one was the correct match. The examiners were given four options following the ABFO guidelines: established identification, possible identification, insufficient data and exclusion; the participants also explained the reason for each of their conclusions. The accuracy of the methodology was 75,4%, the sensitivity was 53,5% and the specificity was 86,4%. Overall, there was a tendency of the observers to overlook non-dental characteristics. Not surprisingly, dental identification by visual comparison of radiographs was not immune to subjectivity and, even analysing the same category of features, different conclusions and consequently different percentages of accuracy were reached. When matching the correct AM radiograph, most examiners compared the root morphology of the first molars and the shape of the maxillary sinus. When one of the AM radiographs was not matched, the examiners mostly asserted that there was insufficient data to reach a conclusion due to the lack of distinctive and comparable features. With AM and PM radiographs showing different development stages, accuracy was correlated to the age of the AM radiograph.
法医牙科学在身份识别中起着重要作用。牙齿具有因人而异的个体特征。牙科X光片客观地呈现实际情况，是牙齿身份识别最可靠的工具。本研究的首要目的是通过与混合牙列X光片进行视觉比较，评估恒牙未修复个体牙齿身份识别的准确性。第二个目的是了解不同背景的检查人员会比较哪些解剖特征。共有19名法医专家参与了一项基于网络的问卷调查，以评估对12个模拟案例的身份识别；每个案例都需要将1张牙科全景片与3张牙科根尖片进行X光片比较，其中只有一张是正确匹配的。根据ABFO指南，检查人员有四个选项：确定身份、可能身份、数据不足和排除；参与者还解释了他们每个结论的原因。该方法的准确率为75.4%，灵敏度为53.5%，特异性为86.4%。总体而言，观察者有忽视非牙齿特征的倾向。毫不奇怪，通过X光片视觉比较进行牙齿身份识别也无法避免主观性，即使分析同一类特征，也会得出不同的结论，进而导致不同的准确率。在匹配正确的根尖片时，大多数检查人员会比较第一磨牙的牙根形态和上颌窦的形状。当其中一张根尖片不匹配时，检查人员大多声称由于缺乏独特且可比的特征，没有足够的数据得出结论。由于根尖片和全景片显示不同的发育阶段，准确率与根尖片的年龄相关。
