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Objectives: The subject of dental anatomy is basically very important both from academic and practical points of view in dentistry. The present study was designed to determine the extent of variations in the perception of dental anatomy among dental students, dental practitioners, and dental academicians. Material and Methods: The questionnaire consisted of 15 closed-ended questions related to dental anatomy. There were 11 dichotomous questions with “yes” and “no” options and four multiple-choice questions. The questions were validated by experts and the questionnaire was submitted in Google form to the targeted respondent’s groups through WhatsApp and Emails. The responses received over 2 months were considered for statistical analysis. The Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric test was performed to test the difference in the responses between the groups of respondents. Results: The results of the study revealed that nearly 62–92% of the respondents gave an affirmative response to the dichotomous questions (Q. No. 1–11). The digital Vernier caliper was the most preferred instrument to measure the tooth dimensions and the FDI system was the most preferred nomenclature system among the respondents (66.7%) followed by the Palmer-Zsigmondy system (18.2%). Almost 50% of the respondents opted for conservative dentistry and endodontics as the clinical specialty in dentistry, where the knowledge of dental anatomy has its greatest application. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the opinion about dental anatomy between the undergraduate dental students and the professionals except for their opinion regarding the course curriculum.

Fingerprint analysis for personal identification is well-known, as it is unique to all individuals and remains unchanged over a lifetime. Now it is getting identified as a useful tool in understanding the basic questions in genetics and is emerging as an independent field in dentistry as dermatoglyphics. This study is carried out to evaluate the association between dermatoglyphic pattern and dental caries. The present study comprised total 200 individuals (100 male and 100 females) with age of 15 to 40 years, out of which 150 subjects included in group 1(with dental caries) and 50 individuals were included in group 2(without dental caries). DMFT score and fingerprint patterns of all 10 fingers were recorded in to proforma. These findings were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.Nearly 57.5% of group 1 patients had whorl pattern in their fingers followed by Loop patterns (38.13%) and arch pattern (4.4%). But in caries free group the Loop pattern was more frequent (75%), followed by whorl (21%) and arch patterns (3.6%). There was a significant difference in the distribution of whorl and loop pattern between caries and caries free group (pAn attempt to evaluate the association between fingerprint patterns and DMFT score was made in this present study. An individual's susceptibility to dental caries increases with whorl pattern incidence and decreases with loop pattern incidence. Hence it may be concluded that, fingerprint pattern could indicate a person’s susceptibility to dental caries. This method may be considered as a non-invasive, cost-efficient, time saving method while screening of prevalence of dental caries. Also, it might serve as effective tool in prevention of dental caries.

Few studies consider the effects of impaction, resulting in inaccurate estimation of age using third molar. We aimed to assess the significance of impaction in estimating age using Modified Demirjian’s method. 200 orthopantomograms of patients between 16–25 years were collected comprising 171 tests and 212 controls. Chronologic age (CA) and estimated age (EA) were calculated. Independent sample t-test, chi-square test, paired t-test and Kolmogrov-Smirnov test of normality were used. The mean difference between the CA and EA in both the tests and control samples were significant (mean difference test group = 2.6 ± 2.07, control group = 2.0 ± 1.8; p = 0.01). It provided a difference of 0.6 which is equal to 7.2 months. The results of our study indicate that impacted mandibular third molars are susceptible to undergo slower mineralization, leading to erroneous lower age estimation. These results in an Indian population are noteworthy. However further studies are needed.

Disasters are always unpredictable irrespective of their origin. The loss of human lives is a common outcome of disasters. Along with the physical and emotional trauma sustained by the victims, there is the additional responsibility of handling the deceased. Though there is an exclusive component with the management of the dead in place the specific issue about identifying them is still a complex process. Humanitarian forensics especially involves handling, identifying and disposing the dead bodies. It requires the application of the principles of forensic sciences in a multidisciplinary way. The role of forensic odontologists and anthropologists is not only restricted to the scientific collection of dental data from the dead body but also the proper utilization of the antemortem dental data to successfully establish the identity of the deceased, either alone or combined with secondary characteristics. Elaborate and comprehensive information with justification on the role of dental data and forensic odontologists in the dignified management of the dead need to be highlighted to the Disaster Management authorities. Several International organizations have pointed out the importance of odontology features in human identification. Moreover, forensic odontologists and general dentists are also involved in the international disaster victim identification teams. The present article provides basic knowledge on disaster risk management and the institutional framework in Disaster Management and also highlights the role of forensic odontology in disaster victim identification. It calls for national and state disaster victim identification teams with the involvement of forensic odontologists.

Aim: This survey aimed to evaluate the awareness of forensic odontology (FO) subject among dental students, dental academicians (DAs), and dental practitioners (DPs) in Gujarat state. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire sheet containing 14 questions was answered by 607 participants consisting of dental students, DAs, and DPs in Gujarat. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the responses, and the results were presented as frequencies and percentages. The Chi‑square test was used to compare the responses among the groups, and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 607 participants answered the questionnaire form. Out of 212 UG students, 175 (82.5%) were aware of the FO branch and 181 (85.4%) agreed to FO as a promising field in dentistry. The majority of the undergraduate (UG) students agreed that FO should be taught as a separate subject at UG and postgraduate level. The majority of the participants (95.7%) agreed that dental evidence plays an important role in forensic cases. Nearly 80% of the respondents agreed for a separate PG course in FO and around 37% of them opted for MDS course in FO. Bitemark analysis and dental age estimations were considered the promising domains in FO by >80% of the participants. Conclusion: This questionnaire study was performed to analyze the awareness of FO among dental students, DPs, and DAs. The majority of the study participants were aware of FO. A thorough review of the literature on a similar topic was also done.

BackgroundThe bony cavity known as the crypt encloses the developing tooth, the size of which is influenced by the tooth movements during various phases of tooth eruption. The radiographic observations have revealed that the size of the crypt decreases as the root formation continues. The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between the crypt to tooth ratio (CTR) and the chronological age in children in the age range of 4 to 16 years using their digital panoramic radiographs (OPGs). The ImageJ tools were used to calculate the area of the bony crypt and the area of the developing mandibular second molar from 145 OPGs. The ratio between the area of the crypt and the area of the calcified portion of the tooth was obtained and compared with the calendric age (CA) to develop a regression model for age estimation.ResultsThere was a significant negative correlation between the chronological age and the CTR values (r= −0.898,pr2value of 0.807 and a standard error of estimate (SEE) being 1.385. The derived formula was tested using 52 OPGs from a different set of patients in the same age group. The mean chronological age of the test sample was 9.57 years (± 3.42), their mean estimated age (EA) was 8.50 years (± 3.25), and the difference was statistically significant (pConclusionsThis method is an attempt to correlate the crypt to tooth ratio of developing the second molar tooth with the chronological age. A large sample study is required to validate this novel technique of age estimation in children.

Introduction In the mandible, the gonial angle value is used to ascertain the age and gender differences for the forensic and anthropological purposes. Lots of research is being conducted on this topic, but the result of one contradicts the other. Methods We tested the hypothesis of a relationship between gonial angle and the age, gender and dental status using lateral cephalograms and orthopantomograms from 242 subjects aged between 6 and 80 years. The Paired t-test was used to assess the difference in the gonial angle between the radiographs and independent samples t-test was used to assess the difference between male and female samples. ANOVA test with Post hoc multiple comparisons were used to assess the difference in gonial angle among the age subgroups in both the radiographs. The p-value Results There was significant difference in the gonial angle values between lateral cephalograms and OPG. The mean difference was greater on the left side (1.77° ± 3.57) than on the right side of the mandible (1.54° ± 3.00). A significant gender difference in gonial angle was observed in lateral cephalogram. The dentulous group had significantly higher gonial angle values than the edentulous group. Only OPG gonial angles showed significant difference among age groups. Conclusion The gonial angle values in orthopantomogram and lateral cephalogram differ significantly. The gonial angle from orthopantomogram can be used for age estimation and that from lateral cephalogram can be used for gender determination.

Dermatoglyphics play an important role in the identification of a person as well as identifying a person with a genetic abnormality. Hence, the present study was conducted with an aim to explore the association between the fingerprint patterns and oral potentially malignant disorders, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), individuals with habit and without lesion and the control group.A cross-sectional study comprising of 100 individuals divided into 5 groups with 20 individuals in each group based on their habit and the presence of oral lesions. Group 1 included individuals with oral leukoplakia (OL), Group 2 included individuals with oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), Group 3 included individuals who had OSCC, Group 4 individuals had tobacco habits but without lesion and Group 5 comprised of control individuals. The fingerprints of all the study subjects were recorded using a standard ink method. They were analyzed qualitatively and quantitively.The present study showed a predominance of that loop patterns in all the groups. The frequency of the whorled pattern was higher in subjects with OSMF as compared to OL and OSCC. The arch pattern was comparatively lesser in subjects with OL than OSMF subjects. The right-left comparison of the fingerprint patterns in all the five groups, except Group 4, showed a significant association and correlation. The Group 4 individuals were showing the least correlation between sides.The study concluded that dermatoglyphics can be used as a potential marker to identify the subjects with risk for potentially malignant oral disorders and oral cancers.

Analysis of RAPD loci in Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), as generated by the arbitrary primer OPA 07 (GAAACGGGTG), revealed a maximum within-region genetic variability for samples from the east coast of India. Dendograms did not show clear centre-specific clusters. Restricted intermixing among the individuals between the east and west coasts in suggested.

Background: Malocclusion in the vertical and sagittal planes is easy to observe whereas it is difficult to diagnose malocclusion in the transverse plane. There are yet no criteria defining a normal transverse occlusion. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify a ratio that defines a normal transverse occlusion. Study Design: This was a retrospective study. Materials and Methods: A total sample of 151 maxillary dental models (M = 55, F = 96) in the age range of 12-16 years were randomly selected, with 73 models in control group and 78 in the study group. All the models were mixed up and given to an operator for the measurement of intercanine width (ICW) and inter-palatal molar width (IPMW). Statistical Analysis Used : The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 16.0. Chi-square test was performed to test the statistical significance difference between the groups at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Nearly 98.60% of normal arches were found to have an IPMW to ICW ratio of 1:1 ± 0.05. On further analysis, it was found that when IPMW ≥37.45 mm, then the case may be considered to have normal arches, and if the ratio between IPMW to ICW is 1.15:1 ± 0.05 or more and IPMW is

Jayasankar, P., Anoop, B., Rajagopalan, M., Yousuf, K.M.M., Reynold, P., Krishnakumar, P.K., Kumaran, Pl., Afsal, V.V., Krishnan, Anoop A. (2008): Molecular Identification of Delphinids and Finless Porpoise (Cetacea) from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Zootaxa 1853 (1): 57-67, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1853.1.5, URL: https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1853.1.5

The population parameters of the two most abundant sciaenids comprising the trawl catch in the Palk Bay/Gulf of Mannar area are presented. The following parameters were estimated: 233 mm (L sub( infinity )), 1.26 yr super(1) (K), -0.08 yr (t sub(0)), 4.24 yr super(1) (Z) and 2.24 yr super(1)(M) for Pennahia anear, 284 mm (L sub( infinity )), 1.08 yr super(1) (K), -0.05 yr (t sub(0)), 4.41 yr super(1) (Z) and 1.92 yr super(1) for Nibea maculata. Length at first capture was 97 mm for P. anea and 124 mm for N. maculata. These lengths were noted to be less than the corresponding length at first maturity for both species. The exploitation rates (E) derived indicate that the two species are heavily fished, which may account for the decline in sciaenid catches from 1988 to 1992.