Validity of dental findings for identification by postmortem computed tomography

Area of Science:

• Forensic Radiology
• Forensic Odontology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) is crucial for identifying individuals and extracting information from corpses.
• It serves as a valuable alternative to standard examinations for severely damaged bodies or in mass fatality incidents.
• The diagnostic accuracy of dental findings from PMCT requires thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the validity of dental findings derived from PMCT images.
• To compare PMCT dental findings against traditional dental examinations as the gold standard.
• To determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of PMCT in identifying dental characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Routine collection of PMCT images from 148 unidentified corpses.
• Systematic comparison of dental findings from PMCT with regular dental examinations on a tooth-by-tooth basis.
• Calculation of validity metrics including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV).

Main Results:

• High sensitivity and specificity were observed for identifying present teeth (0.96, 0.97), missing teeth (0.97, 0.97), pontics (0.92, 1.00), dental implants (1.00, 1.00), and root fillings (0.94, 0.99).
• The mean accuracy of dental findings per corpse was 95.6%.
• 81 out of 148 corpses (54.7%) showed 100% accuracy in dental findings via PMCT.

Conclusions:

• PMCT demonstrates high validity for dental findings, supporting its use in human identification.
• The accuracy of PMCT is particularly significant in resource-limited settings or when dealing with compromised remains.
• PMCT offers a reliable method to enhance identification processes in forensic investigations.