Role of dental implants in forensic identification

D implant is a component that is placed within the jaw bones to aid support for the dental prosthesis by means of osseointegration. Recently dental implants are more often used in dental identification especially for cases where dentition is entirely constructed from implants. Dental implants are broadly classified based on their properties, implant design and attachment mechanisms. Modern dental implants fuses with bone through the biological process called osseointegration. Some of the materials like titanium and ceramic help in bone integration rather causing foreign body reaction. Recent advances like implant recognition software, radiographic recognition of dental implants and assessment of batch numbers help the forensic odontologist in identifying the victims by comparing with the antemortem records of the affected victims.