Journal de recherche médico-légale

Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Teledentistry and Forensic Odontology

Abstract

Nicolas Giraudeau

Introduction: The study of teeth and jaws is the focus of forensic dentistry, a subfield of forensic science. New comparative identification tools are being developed to make the work of experts easier. Digital methods like the intra-oral camera are also revolutionizing the way forensic dentistry works today.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a post-mortem odontogram that was taken remotely using an intra-oral camera to capture a video of the oral cavity. The post-mortem odontogram that is obtained through the standard identification method during the clinical examination is the gold standard.

Materials and Method: Data were gathered at the University Hospital of Montpellier's Forensic Medicine and Thanatology Department from 25 deceased patients. There were three stages to the protocol: the gold-standard consultation, the Soprocare® camera-enabled video recording, and the remote image analysis. Two distinct dental surgeons were responsible for completing a clinical file that would be used to establish the odontogram of the deceased patient. They carried out the gold standard consultation as well as the remote analysis.

Results: Between May 13 and June 12, 2019, the study was conducted on 25 deceased subjects. There were 68% men and 32% women in our sample. The odontogram performed with a sensitivity threshold of 0.97, meaning that 97% of the teeth actually present in the mouth of all study participants could be identified from intraoral camera videos. With a PPV of 97.9 percent and a NPV of 98.2 percent, the intra-oral camera examination demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance in the detection of missing teeth. The intra-oral camera recording skills of the practitioner improved.

Conclusion: The Soprocare® intraoral camera has acceptable diagnostic validity in establishing the odontogram of the deceased. This digital tool's ease of use gradually improved with the number of subjects in the study. It makes it possible to identify fundamental elements effectively. However, there are still a few things that need to be improved to make using the camera for data collection as simple and effective as possible.