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<p>Smiling photographs with visible dentition can function as reliable biometric evidence for establishing identity in unidentified, burnt, skeletonized, or decomposed human remains in the absence of antemortem dental records. This systematic review explores the practical application of such photographs in forensic identification. Following electronic database search from 2006 to 2025, screening and eligibility evaluation in accordance with PRISMA criteria, ten case reports/series were included and analyzed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool modified for forensic context. Cases of unidentified, burnt, decomposed, or skeletonized human remains of children to middle-aged adults have been reported in Brazil, Australia, Jordan, Nepal, and Syria, where antemortem smiling photographs obtained via families or social media and postmortem information were analyzed using direct/ digital visual comparison, smile-line tracing, and digital superimposition for the identification of the deceased. Reported cause of death included tsunamis, aircraft disasters, drownings, homicides, gunshots, and wildlife attacks. Unique dental traits, crown morphology, crowding, spacing, fractures, and restorations also enabled precise identification. Non-clinical smile photographs function as a reliable substitute for forensic identification when other primary identifiers such as DNA and fingerprinting are not feasible. Future study must address the reported issues of inconsistent image quality, orientation discrepancies, absence of standardization, and susceptibility to subjectivity.</p>

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Real-world application of non-clinical smile photographs for forensic human identification – a systematic review of case reports

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月19日

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  • Jeyaseelan Augustine,
  • Sourendra Nath Basu,
  • Kuldeep Singh,
  • Nitendra Singh,
  • Ruchi Sehrawat,
  • Anil Kumar Saini,
  • Aadithya B. Urs,
  • Priya Kumar,
  • Amit Prakash Singh,
  • Mahesh Verma

摘要

Smiling photographs with visible dentition can function as reliable biometric evidence for establishing identity in unidentified, burnt, skeletonized, or decomposed human remains in the absence of antemortem dental records. This systematic review explores the practical application of such photographs in forensic identification. Following electronic database search from 2006 to 2025, screening and eligibility evaluation in accordance with PRISMA criteria, ten case reports/series were included and analyzed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool modified for forensic context. Cases of unidentified, burnt, decomposed, or skeletonized human remains of children to middle-aged adults have been reported in Brazil, Australia, Jordan, Nepal, and Syria, where antemortem smiling photographs obtained via families or social media and postmortem information were analyzed using direct/ digital visual comparison, smile-line tracing, and digital superimposition for the identification of the deceased. Reported cause of death included tsunamis, aircraft disasters, drownings, homicides, gunshots, and wildlife attacks. Unique dental traits, crown morphology, crowding, spacing, fractures, and restorations also enabled precise identification. Non-clinical smile photographs function as a reliable substitute for forensic identification when other primary identifiers such as DNA and fingerprinting are not feasible. Future study must address the reported issues of inconsistent image quality, orientation discrepancies, absence of standardization, and susceptibility to subjectivity.