The Importance of Restorative Dentistry in the forensic field

Abstract

The practice of Forensic Odontology is regulated by articles 63 and 64 of the CFO Resolution nº 63/2005, entitled "Consolidation of the norms for procedures in the Odontology Councils". With the purpose of identification of an individual, the dental expert examination can be divided into three techniques: examination of the dental arches of the corpse, examination of the dental records, and comparison. From an expert point of view, the differentiation of restorative materials is a potential mechanism to help in the process of human identification in Forensic Dentistry, not only by the discriminatory potential of these materials through their radiopacity but also by the possibility of distinguishing the material from adjacent dental tissues. In the present paper, we will try, through literature review, to report the importance of restorative materials undergoing changes at certain temperature levels, which may serve as a basis in comparison with the dental records of victims in human identification processes. The techniques of palatal roughness analysis, radiopacity, dyes, rugoscopy, dental implants, and other items that act in the field of human identification, will be addressed in this article in face of the collection of all dental information from antemortem and post-mortem databases regarding the evidence of the arch or body in the process of forensic identification.