Regional variation in incisor shoveling in Indian population

Abstract

Background: The forensic odontologists play a very important role in assisting the Forensic team in the identification of corpuses found in natural disasters and homicides. Since tooth is a calcified structure and is resistant to high or low temperatures and is adequately strong to resist trauma, the teeth may be the only structure left behind intact in most of the cases. The resemblance of incisors to a shovel results from the combination of a concave lingual surface and elevated marginal ridges of the incisor teeth. Previous researches had proved that different population shows different shoveling pattern, which may be useful for identification of individuals in a mass disaster like natural or human created. Aims and Objectives: The present study was framed for the identification of different shoveling pattern in incisors in different parts of India. Materials and Methods: 400 patients were selected for the study which consisted of an equal number of individuals from different parts of India such as East, West, North, and South. The Hrdlicka’s subjective scale was used to categorize the degree of shovelshaped incisors. Results: Our study showed that shoveling pattern of incisors were more pronounced in the Western part of India than other areas such as East and North and was very minimal in the Southern part of India. Clinical Significance: The present study on the shoveling pattern of incisors may be a useful aid for personal identification in forensic dentistry.