Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology最新文献

{"title":"Curvature-based 3D dental comparison to identify trauma-induced surface changes in human teeth: \u2028a forensic comparison study","authors":"Anika Kofod Petersen, Rubens Spin-Neto, Palle Villesen, Line Staun Larsen","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.17990322","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.17990322","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study evaluates the performance of a curvature-based 3D dental comparison method - the keypoint pipeline - for forensic identification, assessing the effects of standardised blunt force trauma on human dentitions. The dental arches in ten human jaw specimens (five maxillae, five mandibulae) were scanned using two intraoral 3D scanners before and after exposure to controlled blunt trauma delivered via a drop tower mechanism applying approximately 3154 Newton of force. Trauma outcomes were documented through high-speed video, digital photography, and 3D scanning. Post-trauma scans were processed using the keypoint pipeline, which quantifies dental surface similarity by comparing curvature signatures. An all-vs-all comparison was conducted between pre- and post-trauma scans, including cross-scanner evaluations. Despite consistent trauma application, fracture patterns varied by jaw type, with mandibular fractures typically occurring in the frontal plane in the side segments and maxillary fractures in the sagittal plane in the midline suture. The keypoint pipeline successfully scored 92.5% of the true matches to be the best matching comparison, even in the presence of significant structural damage and tooth displacement. Matching pairs yielded lower dissimilarity scores (mean: 0.55) compared to mismatches (mean: 0.78), indicating that curvature features were sufficiently preserved post-trauma. These findings support the integration of curvature-based 3D dental surface analysis into forensic odontology workflows, particularly in disaster victim identification scenarios involving blunt force trauma.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 3","pages":"49-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12906363/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145844344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A survey on perceptions of denture labelling and marking among dental practitioners in Australia - \u2028a pilot study.","authors":"Holly Peters, Alistair Soon, Jane Evans, Khaled Ahmed","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.17990247","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.17990247","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Denture labelling is an underutilised tool with many applications. Identification of patient's denture can help to prevent loss of the appliance and be used posthumously in Forensic Odontology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Aim: &lt;/strong&gt;The aim of the survey was to assess the perceptions, education, and technique preferences of dental practitioners regarding denture labelling in Australia and identify any barriers. The survey also assesses the dental practitioners' awareness of denture labelling and forensic dental identification.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Materials and methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A questionnaire survey was conducted between \"March 2023 to November 2023\". Participants consisted of general dentists, prosthodontists and dental prosthetists were surveyed across Australia. Participants who were recruited anonymously via email and information sheet through organisations including the Australian Dental Prosthetist Association (ADPA), Griffith University, the University of Sydney, and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. The survey consists of twenty-one questions relating to the participants' demographic background, the practice of denture labelling in their workplace, and awareness of denture labelling and forensic dental identification.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Fifty-two participants completed the survey. Participants include thirty-three general dentists, sixteen dental prosthetists and three prosthodontists. 63.5% (n=51) of the participants were not taught to label dentures. The majority (67.3%; n=35) of the practitioners had never labelled a denture, whereas 15.4% (n=8) labelled dentures less than once a year, and 11.5% (n=6) monthly. Dental prosthetists and Prosthodontists are more likely to label a denture than a general dentist (p=0.003). Removable complete acrylic dentures were most commonly labelled (maxillary 94%; n=16 and mandibular 81%; n=14), with the preference for placing the label posteriorly at the palatal and lingual surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular denture (39%; n=26and 36%; n=25 respectively). The most significant barriers to denture labelling were time (mean score: 2.98 out of 5) and labour (mean score: 2.88 out of 5). The cohort was split on their exposure to forensic odontology (46%; n=24 said yes, 50%; n=26 said no);however, 71% (n=37) were aware that denture labelling could be used for forensic dental identification, and 75% (n=39) in support of mandatory denture labelling in hospitals and aged care facilities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;Denture labelling remains an underutilised in Australia despite widespread recognition of its value. Dental prosthetists and more experienced practitioners were more likely to implement denture labelling; however, time, labour, and cost were identified as key barriers. Although denture labelling is insufficiently covered in dental curricula, practitioners demonstrated awareness of its benefits and expressed strong support for making it mandatory","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 3","pages":"39-48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12893771/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145844291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphometric and volumetric analysis of the frontal sinus in a brazilian population using cone beam computed tomography: a forensic approach for sex, age and facial morphology determination.","authors":"Letícia Bego de Miranda, Beatriz Caio Felipe, Matheus Kawana Couto, Wilton Mitsunari Takeshita, Lilian Cristina Vessoni Iwaki, Mariliani Chicarelli da Silva","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15564344","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15564344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the linear and volumetric measurements of the frontal sinus (FS), using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, for a discriminatory analysis of gender, age and facial skeletal pattern in a Brazilian population. A total of 300 CBCT scans were analyzed, measuring the height, width, length and volume of the FS. The measurements were divided into groups: sex, age (<20 to >40 years and >40 years) and facial skeletal pattern classes I, II and III. The function values in the centroid group were 0.675 for male and -0.292 for female. A rule was established indicating that if the value of D is greater than 0.19, the sample will be classified as male. The results showed a significant difference in women, who had significantly lower volume, width and depth than men (p-value<0.001, 0.003 and <0.001 respectively). No significant differences could be observed between the age and facial skeletal pattern groups. The results suggest that the FS measures of volume, height, width and depth have moderate discriminatory power for predicting gender in a Brazilian population. In conclusion, the results show that the FS has potential for determining gender, but the accuracy of the method and its applicability for analyzing age and facial skeletal pattern were limited in our population.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 2","pages":"21-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478031/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144972124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late mandibular fracture after third molar extraction: a malpractice case or not?","authors":"Sara Bernardi, Eloenora Ricciuti, Sara Trichilo, Davide Gerardi, Fabiola Rinaldi, Giuseppe Varvara, Stefano Mummolo, Guido Macchiarelli, Serena Bianchi","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15564456","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15564456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fractures of the mandibular angle following surgical extraction of the third molar occur at an incidence ranging from 0.0034% to 0.0075%. The low incidence and the data present in the literature reveal how legal claims based on late mandibular fractures from third molar extractions are unlikely, being an uncommon clinical condition. The present case investigates the causal relationship between the fracture of the mandibular angle and the intervention of extraction of a dental element 3.8 in conditions of semi-inclusion and the possible hypothesis of dental malpractice. About two weeks after the extraction, the patient felt a noise like that produced by shattering glass, followed by severe and sudden pain along the area of the left mandibular joint and numbness. The following day, the patient underwent an orthopantomogram performed by the same medical team that carried out the operation in question, with an incorrect diagnosis of dislocation of the condyle, which is to be treated with muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories. Upon further radiological investigations performed by different operators, it is concluded that the patient is suffering from a \"fracture of the left mandibular angle\". The patient, therefore, reported and sued the dentists for the crime of negligent personal injury who had extracted element 3.8. From medical history, clinical examination, and documentation produced by the patient, it can be said that the extraction of element 3.8 was necessary as the pericoronary sac had caused an untreatable periodontal lesion at the distal root of the 3.7. From a medico-legal point of view, it was established that the extraction maneuvers may have caused the fracture of the mandibular angle, but it can be excluded professional responsibility in the criminal field of the medical team that carried out the res judicata intervention, since the fact in itself represents a known complication of the extraction of mandibular third molars.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 2","pages":"2-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478033/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144972115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characteristics of Brazilian dental malpractice lawsuits in 2022 and 2023.","authors":"Flavia Vanessa Greb Fugiwara, Patricia Nakasato Kondo, Deisy Satie Moritsugui, Rodolfo Francisco Haltenhoff Melani","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.16418708","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.16418708","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A survey was conducted of the dental professional liability cases adjudicated (post-appeal) throughout the Brazilian territory during the years 2022 and 2023. Data was retrieved from the Jusbrasil website (www.jusbrasil.com.br), and the characteristics of the lawsuits were assessed and compared with those reported in previous studies. The query entered into the \"case law search\" field was \"dental professional liability\". An assessment was conducted of 472 rulings referring to 2022 and 447 rulings referring to 2023 in which the dentist was convicted in 61% and 68% of the cases, respectively. There was no increase in the number of cases between the years included in the assessment; however, an increase did occur in the number of cases when compared to that reported in another methodologically similar study. An expert's report was solicited by the court in 75% of the cases. The most frequently involved specialties were implant dentistry and prosthodontics, and there was a tendency toward an increase in lawsuits involving companies as opposed to individuals. The amounts awarded for moral and aesthetic damages ranged from US$ 299.00 to US$ 19,960.00. The highest mean value awarded for moral damages involved the specialty of oral & maxillofacial surgery and traumatology, whereas the lowest mean value was associated with restorative dentistry. The amount most frequently awarded in convictions across the two years included in the survey was US$ 1,954.00. The adoption of preventive measures can potentially reduce the number of new cases, convictions and financial losses resulting from civil liability lawsuits.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 2","pages":"12-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478032/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144972101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of dental and skeletal age among unilateral cleft lip and palate patients in an eastern Indian population.","authors":"Manila Kannadasan, Surya Narayan Das, Rachna Rath, Surya Kanta Das, Geeta Sahu, Aishwariya Mohanty","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.16486024","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.16486024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Unilateral cleft lip and palate affects dental and skeletal maturation, leading to delays that impact treatment planning and forensic age estimation. Understanding the correlation between dental age, skeletal age, and chronological age is essential for clinical and medico-legal applications.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To evaluate and compare dental and skeletal age in non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate patients with an age- and gender-matched non-cleft control group.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 216 individuals (108 unilateral cleft lip and palate cases and 108 controls), aged 7 to 18 years. Dental age was assessed using Acharya's modified Demirjian method on panoramic radiographs, while skeletal age was estimated using the Greulich and Pyle Atlas from left hand-wrist radiographs. Statistical analyses were conducted to compare dental age, skeletal age, and chronological age.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Skeletal age was more delayed than dental age, with males experiencing greater delays than females. Males had a mean skeletal delay of 0.92 years (p < 0.001), and females had a delay of 0.90 years (p < 0.001). Dental age delay was 0.28 years in males (p = 0.016) and 0.21 years in females (p = 0.150, not significant). The most significant delays were observed between ages 10 to 14 years, with a peak skeletal delay of 1.04 years at age 10 in females (p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Skeletal age is more delayed than dental age, with males experiencing greater delays. These findings highlight the need for individualized treatment planning and reinforce the importance of cleft-specific age estimation methods in forensic and legal contexts.</p><p><strong>Clinical significance: </strong>Accurate assessment of skeletal and dental age is essential for timely orthodontic and surgical interventions and for preventing age misclassification in forensic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 2","pages":"32-42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478034/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144972048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applicability of London atlas of tooth development and eruption for dental age estimation in children of the Malaysian population using maxillofacial imaging.","authors":"Radhadevi Kuppusamy, Norhayati Jaffar, Raja Zarina Raja Shahardin, Hemlatha Pandey, Scheila Mânica","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15046145","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15046145","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In forensics, dental age estimation is crucial, and literature has many methods for estimating dental age. London Atlas of Human Tooth Development and eruption method was developed on British and Bangladeshi populations in 2010, and there are likely to be differences between other populations.  Malaysian children have not yet been extensively tested for the method's applicability despite its universal acceptance and reliability. This research aimed to test the applicability of The London Atlas of human tooth development and eruption in children of the Malaysian population aged 4 to 16.99 years old. The study sample included 523 panoramic radiographs of healthy patients who had attended the Dental Paediatrics Department Hospital Tunku Azizah, Malaysia, between May 2019 and December 2019. The intra- and inter-observer errors were analysed by taking 53 radiographs and evaluating them over 14 days using the interclass correlation and Cohen's Kappa index. A paired t-test was used to compare chronological and estimated age ANOVA F-tests were used to establish if the difference is statistically significant between chronological and estimated age. The range of age estimation fell within a year due to the mean absolute difference of 0.60 years. The mean age for estimated age was 9.31±3.18 for the overall sample, 9.06±3.09 for males, and 9.60±3.27 for females. Paired t-test analysis showed the mean difference between chronological and estimated age of -0.0365 and was not statistically significant (p=0.240). The result also showed no statistically significant difference between the sexes. The difference between the chronological and estimated age was underestimated within minimal range, 0.002 years in males and 0.08 years in females. The London Atlas of human tooth development and eruption showed high accuracy in Malaysian children.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 1","pages":"2-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12083884/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144001303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discriminant function analysis of maxillary bone measurements for sex estimation in a Colombian population by using cone-beam computed tomography.","authors":"Sergio Iván Tobón-Arroyave, Santiago S Palacio-Gutiérrez, Sara Morales-Galeano, Clara Inés Saldarriaga-Naranjo, Carlos Alberto Tangarife-Villa","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15044914","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15044914","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sexual dimorphism is an important biological factor for sex estimation from skeletal remains in medicolegal identification. This study aimed to determine using a discriminant function analysis, whether specific maxillary linear and angular measurements performed in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images may be useful to determine the sex in a Colombian population. The sample consisted of 212 CBCT scans acquired from 86 males and 126 females. The protocol included the assessment of 23 parameters, of which 16 were bilateral and seven were non-bilateral. An intra-observer variability test was performed to ensure data reliability and unpaired t tests were applied to determine between-group differences. Significant predictor variables were subjected to univariate and multivariate discriminant function analyses. A total of five non-bilateral and 14 bilateral measures were statistically significant. Univariate discriminant analyses produced a mean percentage of correct prediction after cross-validation ranging from 55.20% to 72.60% for non-bilateral and from 58.70% to 73.10% for bilateral maxillary variables. The association of variables in the multivariate models increased the percentages of correct sex prediction even after cross-validation up to 77.80% for non-bilateral and up to 77.40% for bilateral maxillary measurements. It was concluded that CBCT measurement of maxillary bone parameters may be applied as a complementary technique to discriminate the sex from human remains through discriminant function analysis methods in the Colombian population.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 1","pages":"19-32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12083886/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144036963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human identification through 3D images: \u2028a comparative method based on common dental morphological traits.","authors":"Ana Catarina Silva, Alexandra Teixeira, Teresa Pinho, Daniel Pérez-Mongiovi","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15332195","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15332195","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>New complementary methods to aid in the rapid identification of human remains, particularly in cases involving multiple victims and heavily degraded bodies, are valued in the forensic field. In these circumstances, the properties and characteristics of teeth make them incredibly useful for human identification. Dental morphological traits, commonly studied in anthropology, exist in the population with varying frequencies, which makes them very informative. Thus, everyone has their own dental trait profile, that may manifest with greater or lesser frequency in the population. We propose a discriminative method by exclusion for the identification of individuals, based on the evaluation of dental traits, using intraoral 3D images. For this purpose, a group of 10 dental traits was chosen to obtain a personal profile in a population group of 76 individuals. Various scenarios were created to analyze different problem cases, by using matching-exclusion tables. Three individuals (problem cases) with dental trait profiles of very low (1/27703 individuals), medium (1/136 individuals), or high frequency in the population (1/42 individuals) were randomly chosen for the experiment. Using a conservative approach, the most likely candidate for positive identification was determined in eight steps for problem case 1, five steps for problem case 2, and two final candidates were identified in problem case 3, with only one achieving 100% similarity. In contrast, the less conservative approach identified the most likely candidate in four steps for case 1, three steps for case 2, and four steps for case 3. The rarest dental profile did not necessarily require fewer steps. Our work suggests that using the well-known dental morphological traits and recent 3D imaging technology could significantly improve the efficient triage and identification of victims, especially in cases of closed mass disasters.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 1","pages":"33-43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12083885/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144027417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and validation of salivary analysis for forensic evidence (SAFE) scale.","authors":"Fida Mansha Ottapurakkal Thazath, Ram Sabarish, Akila Ganesh","doi":"10.5281/zenodo.15031141","DOIUrl":"10.5281/zenodo.15031141","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the surging crime rates and diverse operating methods, identifying the perpetrators and suspects is challenging. Incorporating forensic odontology has expanded the scope of forensics. Over the years, saliva has become the hallmark of forensics. This study aimed to develop a scale for assessing the knowledge and awareness about the role of saliva in forensic odontology. The scale was developed sequentially according to the qualitative research methodology: formation of a conceptual framework, systematic development of an item pool and refinement of an item pool (focus group discussion, cognitive interviewing and pretesting). Then, the validity and reliability of the scale were tested.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A conceptual framework was developed based on five constructs, which included forensic sciences, forensic odontology, crime investigations, salivary analysis and forensic genetics. A pool of 28 items was designed based on existing literature and refined through a focus group discussion involving the target audience and expert panellists. After validation by cognitive interview and pretesting, the scale was condensed into a pool of 23 items. Statistical analysis revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.8 (good reliability) and kappa value of 0.79, indicating a strong level of agreement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The Salivary Analysis for Forensic Evidence scale is a valid and reliable tool that consolidates all possible constructs involved in assessing the role of saliva in forensic odontology.</p>","PeriodicalId":35728,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology","volume":"43 1","pages":"11-18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12083883/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143986207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}