Title
Forensic dentistry - Present and future
Authors
Sonali Khatri1,*, Sneha Masne Deshpande2, Pawan Rebello3, Nidhi Sinha3, Pallavi Khare3, B. Vidya4 & Deeksha Goel5
Affiliation
1Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Genesis Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Firozpur, Punjab, India; 2Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Dental College and Hospital, Belapur, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; 3Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology & Oral Microbiology, Sardar Patel Post Graduate Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; 4Department of dentistry, Dr. Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India; 5Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, DJ College of Dental Sciences and Research, Modi Nagar, India; *Corresponding author
Sonali Khatri - E-mail: sonaliviolet@yahoo.com Sneha
Masne Deshpande - E-mail: sneha.masne@bharatividyapeeth.edu;
masnesneha09@gmail.com Pawan Rebello - E-mail: pawanrebello@gmail.com
Nidhi Sinha - E-mail: nii.shiv@gmail.com
Pallavi Khare - E-mail: pallavikhare265@gmail.com
B. Vidya - E-mail: bvidya1411@gmail.com
Deeksha Goel - E-mail: goeldeeksha858@gmail.com
Article Type
Review
Date
Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30,
2026, Published April 30, 2026
Abstract
Evolved from the Latin word “Forensis”, meaning forum or the court of law, forensic science branches out into a vital subfield, forensic dentistry, which is dedicated to the application of science for the preservation and presentation of dental evidence in the interest of justice. Forensic dentistry is transitioning from manual morphology to high-precision digital diagnostics. While rooted in the thermal resilience of dental tissues, the field now leverages convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for automated age estimation and DNA methylation for epigenetic profiling. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the shift toward the Internet of Dental Things (IoDT) and 3D digital twinning via CBCT for immutable identification. By synthesizing 2024–2026 technological advancements, we provide a roadmap for enhancing the objectivity and legal admissibility of dental evidence. These molecular and AI-driven tools are critical for modernizing human identification in mass disaster and criminal investigations, offering superior speed and accuracy over traditional comparative methods. Thus, we report the pivotal shift from manual dental morphology to AI-driven digital diagnostics.
Keywords
Forensic dentistry, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML)
Citation
Kharti et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2680-2683 (2026)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
