Forensic Dentistry, Second Edition

198 Forensic dentistry

there is no magnification and the printed images are 1:1 representations of

the maxillofacial structures (Figure 10.4).

It is only a matter of time before a victim identification case is solved

using the image data from antemortem and postmortem CBCT scans, as

these machines are growing rapidly in the private sector. Also, a single scan

of the victim can later be compared to any possible variety of submitted ante-

mortem plane film images (i.e., panoramic, periapical, occlusal, PA skull,

Waters, etc.). The CBCT multiplanar views (particularly the axial) exhibit

structures that have not been discernable previously. For example, the para-

nasal sinuses are clearly seen (Figure 10.5) and may possess enough unique

bony architecture to allow for human identifications.^17 Three-dimensional

images of the soft tissue of the face may also be re-created from scan data

when manipulated by third-party software systems allowing comparison to

photographic images of the victim.

Finally, there are other applications of this technology under investiga-

tion, including one in which postmortem dental and skull fragments scanned

by CBCT might be compared to the three-dimensional antemortem image of

a victim’s skull image also obtained from a CT scan, as well as the possibility

of aiding in artist reconstructions of soft tissue added to CBCT stereolithic

models of missing persons’ skulls.

Figure 10.4 multiple cone beam Ct images. several programs are available
that provide three-dimensional rendering of the soft tissue. (see color insert
following page 304.)