Performance and comparison of the London Atlas technique and Cameriere's third molar maturity index (I3M) for allocating individuals below or above the threshold of 18 years.

Age estimation is an important procedure in the forensic practice, especially when it comes to the criminal imputability of juvenile offenders. This study aimed to compare two radiographic methods for dental age estimation in a population of subadults from Northeast Brazil considering their performance on allocating individuals below or above the age threshold of 18 years. A cross-sectional observational study was designed. The sample consisted of 1200 panoramic radiographs of Northeastern Brazilian females (n = 600) and males (n = 600) aged between 16 and 21 years. Dental age estimation was performed using the London Atas technique and Cameriere's third molar maturity index (I3M). Statistical tests were performed to assess the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the two methods on distinguishing individuals below or above the legal age threshold of 18 years. Considering the total sample, the London Atlas technique reached sensitivity of 92.3%, specificity of 56% and accuracy of 79.9%. I3M revealed sensitivity of 94.1%, specificity of 55.4% and accuracy of 79.8%. Specificity rates systematically decreased when the sample was progressively stratified based on age groups that narrowed close to 18 years. The methods performed very similar (0.878). The combination of methods did not improve the performance on dental age estimation. The London Atlas and the I3M methods similarly distinguished Brazilian individuals as minors or not. Their performance, however, was suboptimal because of the low rates of specificity that could negatively influence on Court decisions. In other words, the methods could wrongly classify minors into the age of legal majority (culminating in false positives). In practice, the misleading classification could restrict individual rights (in the civil scenario) or even support more severe penalties (in the criminal scenario).

Importância do registro das ausências dentais para a identificação humana: relato de caso / Importance of the registration of dental absences for human identification: case report

Identificar é determinar ou comprovar a identidade de algo, alguém ou de si mesmo, para isso é necessário um conjunto de procedimentos e diligências. O processo de identificação pode ser realizado por diferentes métodos, em casos de cadáveres carbonizados, muitas vezes, o método de escolha para a identificação é o comparativo entre as particularidades odontológicas ante e post mortem. O objetivo deste trabalho é relatar um caso de identificação humana de corpo carbonizado através do método de comparação odontológica. No necrotério do Instituto de Perícias Oficiais local, deram entrada três corpos carbonizados envolvidos em sinistro aeronáutico. O perito odontolegista foi solicitado para participar do processo de identificação de umas das vítimas. O procedimento pericial consistiu na elaboração de um odontograma específico para o corpo não identificado (exame post-mortem) e confronto com os documentos assistenciais (prontuário odontológico) apresentados como sendo da vítima envolvida no acidente (exame ante-mortem). Após a uniformização dos dados Ante Mortem e Post Mortem, os odontogramas foram confrontados gerando o resultado positivo para identificação, destacando-se o registro de várias ausências dentais. Frente ao relato do caso, destaca-se a importância da atuação do cirurgião-dentista no contexto pericial, contribuindo significativamente com a efetividade dos exames realizados, com a celeridade dos resultados, oferecendo uma opção de baixo custo e alta eficiência para a identificação de corpos carbonizados, dispensando outros métodos de identificação

To identify is to determine or prove the identity of something, of someone or of oneself; for this, a set of procedures and diligences are necessary. The identification process can be performed by different methods; in cases of charred corpses, the method of choice for identification is often the comparative between dental and post-mortem dental characteristics. The objective of this work is to report a case of human identification of charred body by means of the method of dental comparison. In the morgue of the local Forensic Institute, three carbonized bodies involved in an aeronautical accident were admitted. A forensic dentist was asked to participate in the process of identifying one of the victims. The expert procedure consisted in the elaboration of a specific dental chart for the unidentified body (post-mortem examination) and confrontation with the assistance documents (dental records) presented as being of the victim involved in the accident (ante-mortem examination). After the standardization of Ante- Mortem and Post-Mortem data, the dental charts were confronted, generating the positive result for identification, highlighting the record of several dental absences. In view of the case report, the importance of the dental surgeon's performance in the expert context is of extreme value, contributing significantly to the effectiveness of the exams performed, with the speed of results, offering a low cost and high efficiency option for the identification of bodies rather than other methods of identification