Kamburoğlu K. Role of dentomaxillofacial radiology in forensic dentistry. World J Radiol 2026; 18(1): 114957 [DOI: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i1.114957]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kıvanç Kamburoğlu, Professor, Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, Mevlana Bulvarı 19/1, Ankara 06500, Türkiye. dtkivo@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Radiol. Jan 28, 2026; 18(1): 114957 Published online Jan 28, 2026. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v18.i1.114957
Role of dentomaxillofacial radiology in forensic dentistry
Kıvanç Kamburoğlu
Kıvanç Kamburoğlu, Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, Ankara 06500, Türkiye
Author contributions: Kamburoğlu K wrote, analyzed and revised the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kıvanç Kamburoğlu, Professor, Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry, Mevlana Bulvarı 19/1, Ankara 06500, Türkiye. dtkivo@yahoo.com
Received: October 9, 2025 Revised: November 24, 2025 Accepted: December 23, 2025 Published online: January 28, 2026 Processing time: 115 Days and 20.3 Hours
Abstract
Forensic dentistry is one of the important branches of forensic science and it is a branch which offers helpful information for the legal processes including identification of human remains along with age and sex determination. Dental forensic examination can involve the identification of a single individual or multiple individuals depending on the specific situation. Dentomaxillofacial radiology and radiological examination is a valuable tool for personal identification in forensic dentistry. Utilization of X-ray recordings are essential for many parameters related to identification since they shed light on many issues both in determining current conditions and in comparisons with the past. Comparing antemortem and postmortem radiographs taken from areas such as the skull or teeth is a reliable and objective method for identifying individuals. Radiographs and their proper preservation are crucial for present day assessments, historical comparisons and legal issues when necessary. While intraoral and extra oral radiographs were initially used in forensic dentistry, cone beam computed tomography application gained popularity in recent years. The use of radiology in forensic dentistry is not only necessary for identification, but also for age determination in mass casualties and disasters. The purpose of this mini-review is to provide information on the use of dental radiology in forensic dentistry.
Core Tip: This paper discusses the basic concepts and approaches regarding dentomaxillofacial radiology in forensic dentistry. This article will shed light to applications and new trends regarding dentomaxillofacial radiology and its applications in this relatively important field of dentistry.
