Radiographic changes in endodontically treated teeth submitted to drowning and burial simulations: is it a useful tool in forensic investigation?

Abstract

Dental radiographs and endodontic treatments and its materials are source of several pieces of data that are useful in the forensic routine, and dental materials behavior towards death-related events are widely studied in the Forensic scope to provide evidence for Forensic Experts. This study aimed to to analyze the radiographic images of endodontic treatments in teeth submitted to burial and drowning simulation, verifying its feasibility and applicability, as its usefulness in forensic scenario. Material and method: n=20 bovine incisor teeth were endodontically treated then divided into two groups: burial and drowning scenarios. Teeth were radiographed two times (before and after scenario) with an aluminium stepwedge and optical density (OD) was assessed in each root third, in the two radiographs, and then compared (ANOVA and Tukey test) for each scenario. Results: Burial scenario did not significantly altered radiopacity. Regarding the drowning condition, there was no difference in radiopacity between the root thirds before the test. After drowning, the apical third demonstrated lower OD (p<.05) than the other two thirds. Comparing the OD before and after the drowning, medium third presented lower and cervical third demonstrated higher means (p<.05) after drowning. Conclusion: We concluded that drowning conditions could alter the radiopacity of endodontic treated teeth, more specifically in the medium and cervical thirds. There is no evidence that this also occurs in burial situations. This has the potential to be useful in the forensic routine as an initial sign of the ambient which the body was exposed or set.