Lateral Cephalograms as Valuable Antemortem Tools in Forensic Identification of Individuals during Mass Disasters: An...

Cephalometry is usually carried out to assess the type and severity of malocclusion, while the role of cephalometrics in the field of forensic sciences has not been explored until recently. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of lateral cephalograms as valuable antemortem tools during the forensic identification of individuals during mass disasters.

The present retrospective study included analysis of the archival records of 120 subjects who had attained complete skeletal growth at the time of initiation of the orthodontic treatment, while their pre- and posttreatment cephalometric records were analyzed to assess variations, if any, in terms of certain defined morphological landmarks, and the data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis.

The results obtained in the present study revealed no statistical significance in terms of the variations observed for the included reference planes in either case of skull base and/or maxilla and mandible (P > 0.05), revealing the relatively stable nature of the selected planes and reference lines holding high clinical significance to be used for forensic applications during disaster victim identification.

The findings of the present study, with plausible explanations, come with practical implications involving distinct landmark identification on lateral cephalograms as a potential forensic tool in the personal identification of individuals during mass disasters while also highlighting the fact that combination of other methods along with lateral cephalograms can provide much precision and accuracy during the forensic identification of individuals in case of mass disasters.