Root Canal-Treated Teeth as an Aid to Forensic Identification

Abstract

Identification by means of dental comparison between records of a missing person and the dentition of a deceased individual depends on recognition of concordant features common to both with no unexplained discrepancies. Individual root-treated teeth possess a constellation of distinctive radiographic features that provide excellent opportunities for analysis in this context. They also rely heavily on radiographic imaging as part of the procedure, and require the taking of a post-treatment radiograph to confirm the result. This means that there is an ante-mortem radiograph which can be used for comparison with a similar image of the post-mortem case, providing the certainty that arises from using images derived directly from the individual rather than written dental records. We discuss the principles underlying this comparison and illustrate the use of the technique with three cases.