Personal identification using frontal sinus and nasal septum patterns in forensic medicine: A retrospective digital radiographic study

Forensic dentistry is well-defined as “application of dental knowledge in the investigation of crime and administration of justice.”[1] The word forensic comes from Latin, that means “to the forum.” In 1970, Keiser–Neilson defined forensic odontology or forensic dentistry as “that branch of forensic medicine which in the interest of justice, deals with the proper handling and examination of dental evidence and also with proper evaluation and presentation of the dental findings.”[2] Documentation is the foundation of a person’s personality. According to the Acharya and Taylor, “the characterized by which a person may be recognized.”[3] Forensic maxillofacial radiology, a specialized area plays an important role in any mass disasters such as natural calamities, criminal case investigations, burnt cases, and aircraft crashes where body relics dishonored.[4] Human identification is a most embodied field which obliges the manhood in different ways.[5] Most frequently hired means of identification include fingerprints, dental comparisons, and biological methods such as DNA profiling but when soft tissue of human remains become decayed, DNA is severely degraded, or there are any alterations in dental comparisons in such cases identification becomes difficult.[6] Thereby, forensic radiology plays an important role in personal identification as well as gender determination.[4] In human, skull various structures such as frontal sinus (FS), nasal septum (NS), vascular groove patterns, and sella turcica can be appreciated and indicators in the identification of a person because of their exceptionality in every individual.[7,8] FS is a pneumatized cavity situated between the exterior and interior cortical surface of the frontal bone. It is exceptional in every individual including a monozygotic twin. Like FS, NS pattern is an advantageous and inimitable tool. Hence, conserving the antemortem, and then, comparing them with the post-mortem accounts will play a useful tool in the identification of a person or an individual.[9,10] Here, comes the role of radiologists and radiographs play a critical role and are universally acknowledged as a significant tool in personal in identification process as these are modest, cost-effective, and practical method.[4,11] Hence, in the present study was commenced to observe the discrepancies in FS and NS patterns as observed on a posteroanterior cephalogram for identification. Abstract Background: Deviation in patterns of frontal sinus (FS) and nasal septum (NS) help in identifying the deceased or alive in forensic medicine. Aim: The present study was performed for gender determination and personal identification by observing the various patterns of FS and NS in posteroanterior (PA) cephalogram. Materials and Methods: A total of 280 individuals between the age interval of 20 and 50 years were selected. PA cephalogram of the selected individuals was taken on ortho pantomo graph machine with cephalography attachment and Orthophos DS; Sidexis XG digital radiography system. Results: In FS, symmetrical pattern 219 (78%), and in NS, straight 92 (33%) and sigmoid 91 individuals (33%) were found to be dominant. Both FS and NS patterns were also assessed together for each individual. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was done, and r value was 0.994 with P < 0.00001 (P < 0.05) showing it as highly significant. Conclusion: Usage of FS and NS patterns acts as an indicator for personal identification in forensic medicine.