School of Dentistry, University of Dundee, 2 Park Place, Dundee, DD1 4HR, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Bristol, England, United Kingdom.
Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Aug;313:110361. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110361. Epub 2020 Jun 9.
Photographs of a person smiling may provide valuable information about their anterior dentition. These images can be an alternative ante-mortem (AM) dental source in cases with no dental records, which gives the forensic odontologist a significant opportunity for comparative dental analysis. There are no reported studies that have investigated the reliability of a superimposition technique using 2D photographs of a smile and 3D dental models in dental identification. The aim of this study was to explore novel odontological methods by combining 2D photographs with 3D dental models, simulating a dental identification scenario. The objective was to increase the accuracy of dental identification using an AM photograph with the aid of 3D imaging as an alternative to post-mortem (PM) photographs. The study comprised of 31 3D dental models (simulating PM information) and 35 digital photographs (simulating AM information). The data was analysed in two phases: Phase I- Visual Comparison of 2D-3D images and Phase II- 2D-3D superimposition after a wash out period. Both methods were analysed by the principal investigator. Further, one-third (ten) of the sample was evaluated by six raters (three experienced forensic odontologists and three forensic odontology MSc. students). The inter-rater agreement was assessed using intra-class correlation (ICC 2, 1, absolute). The results of the study suggest that the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability using 3D superimposition was highest (ICC ≈ 1.0). In summary, there was an increase in match rates and higher certainty among the opinions reached when using the 2D-3D superimposition method. The procedure attempted to reduce the limitations of previously existing 2D methods and is intended to assist forensic experts with an alternative method in dental identification when expressing conclusions on a case using photographs.
微笑的人像照片可能提供关于他们前牙列的有价值的信息。在没有牙科记录的情况下，这些图像可以作为法医牙科中一个重要的前生前（AM）牙科来源，为比较牙科分析提供了重要机会。目前还没有研究调查使用微笑的 2D 照片和 3D 牙科模型进行重叠技术的可靠性在牙科识别中。本研究的目的是通过结合 2D 照片和 3D 牙科模型来探索新的牙科方法，模拟牙科识别场景。目的是通过 3D 成像作为死后（PM）照片的替代物，使用 AM 照片提高牙科识别的准确性。该研究包括 31 个 3D 牙科模型（模拟 PM 信息）和 35 个数字照片（模拟 AM 信息）。数据分两个阶段进行分析：阶段 I-2D-3D 图像的视觉比较和阶段 II-清洗期后的 2D-3D 叠加。两种方法均由主要研究者进行分析。此外，样本的三分之一（十个）由六名评估员（三名经验丰富的法医牙医和三名法医牙科学硕士学生）进行评估。使用组内相关系数（ICC 2,1,绝对）评估组内和组间的一致性。研究结果表明，使用 3D 叠加的组间和组内可靠性最高（ICC≈1.0）。总之，当使用 2D-3D 叠加方法时，匹配率增加，并且意见的确定性更高。该程序试图减少以前存在的 2D 方法的局限性，并旨在为法医专家提供一种替代方法，以便在使用照片对案件发表结论时进行牙科识别。
