Browsing by Author "Phillips, Vincent"

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    A study to determine the forensic quality of records and record keeping by dentists in the greater Cape Town area
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Opperman, Johan Frank; Phillips, Vincent
    South African dentists have a legal and ethical obligation to maintain complete and comprehensive dental records. In addition to the legal and ethical requirements, dental records are also important in the case of medico-legal issues, quality assurance processes and forensic purposes. Valuable forensic evidence contained in dental records are used in the identification of victims of mass disasters, personal victim identification e.g. in severely decomposed or skeletonized remains where DNA or other biometric data are not available. The victim identification process is highly dependent on complete, legible and accurate dental records. A review of the literature however shows that dental record keeping practices are sub-optimal worldwide. There is a paucity of studies in South Africa regards to dental record keeping practices. The aim of this study was to assess the record keeping practices of a sample of private practicing dentists in Cape Town and surrounding towns, for forensic dental purposes. Knowledge and awareness regards to forensic odontology as well as adherence to the guidelines prescribed by the Health Professional Council of South Africa were also assessed. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, employing a researcher-administered questionnaire and a dental checklist for forensic valuable items in the dental file. The results were entered in a MS Excel spreadsheet and statistically analysed using IMB SPSS Statistics. This study concluded that most of the dental records kept by Cape Town dentists are near to optimal and would be helpful during forensic odontology investigations. However, shortcomings in record keeping practices exists which may compromise the forensic accuracy of their dental records. The study also shows a significant difference in dental record keeping practices by dentists practicing in lower income areas in Cape Town, compared to those practicing in economic affluent areas. The dentists in this study adhered to most of the guidelines prescribed by the Health Professional Council of South Africa however, important medico-legal information was missing from most dental records. This study hopes to contribute to future comprehensive studies in the broader South Africa to determine the validity of dental records for forensic odontology purposes.
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    Dental maturation of the permanent mandibular teeth of South African children and the relation to chronological age
    (University of Western Cape, 2008) Phillips, Vincent; Nortjie, CJ
    Age estimation of the skeletal remains of children can be accomplished by examination of the ossification centres and the fusion of the epiphyseal plates of long bones. Dental age estimation is done by examining the eruption of the deciduous and permanent teeth. Both these methods are inaccurate and are subject to the nutritional status of the individual. A more accurate method of age estimation is by the examination of radiographic images of the developmental stages of the tooth crown and root formation. Two methods of dental age estimation used are those of Moorrees, Fanning and Hunt (1963) (MFH) and that of Demirjian, Goldstein and Tanner (1973) (DGT). These methods were tested on a sample of 913 Tygerberg dental patients; a random mixture of Caucasoid and Khoisanoid children. The MFH method under-estimated the ages of the sample by an average of 0.91 years and the DGT method over-estimated the ages by an average of 0.89 years. Samples of Indian and Negroid children from Kwa-Zulu Natal were tested in a similar manner and the results showed similar under and over-estimation of the ages by these methods. The Negroid children were labelled the Zulu sample. Correction factors were derived for the MFH and DGT methods of dental age estimation when used on Tygerberg, Indian and Zulu children. These correction factors were tested on the samples and found to improve the accuracy of the age estimation methods of MFH and DGT significantly. A second sample group of Tygerberg, Indian and Zulu children were then tested firstly using the standard method of MFH and DGT and the using the correction factors. The results showed that the correction factors improved the age estimation on these samples except in the case of the DGT method on Zulu children. A sample of Xhosa speaking children were added to the two Zulu samples and made an Nguni sample. The Tygerberg samples were combined as were the Indian samples to form data bases for the construction of dental age related tables for Tygerberg, Indian and Nguni children. These tables show that there are distinct differences in the ages at which the teeth develop in the different sample groups and that dental age related tables are necessary for children of different population origins. Statistical analysis of the age related tables from this study (Phillips Tables) show these tables are more accurate in the age estimation of South African children.
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    Sex estimation using the diagonal diameter measurements of first mandibular molars in a Sudanese sample
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Phillips, Vincent; Yousif, Siddig Bashir Hag
    Sexual identification of immature skeletal remains is still a complicated issue to solve in Forensic Anthropology. Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs. (1) The aim of this study is to evaluate the existence of sexual dimorphism in mandibular first molars. The base sample of the study includes 300 Sudanese (150 males and 150 females). Their ages ranged from 17 to 55. The mesio-buccal (MB) disto-lingual (DL) and the mesio-lingual (ML) disto-buccal (DB) surfaces of the mandibular first molars were measured using a digital Vernier caliper on plaster of Paris study casts. The data was analyzed using the t-test. The results showed statistically significant sexual dimorphisms in male and female odontometric features. The mean values of the parameters were greater in males than in females in both (MBDL and MLDB) with greater sexual dimorphism in the MBDL (MBDL dimorphism =28.672 %) than the MLDB (MLDB dimorphism =21.596 %). Conclusion: Sexual dimorphism of 1st molar teeth can aid in the identification of skeletal remains of Sudanese origin.
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    Sexual dimorphism by measuring the mesiodistal width of the permanent maxillary and mandibular canine in a sample of the South African population in the Northern Suburb of Cape Town.
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Abdellatif, Abdelhady; Phillips, Vincent
    Human identification is one of the major responsibilities in the field of Forensic Odontology as it plays a role in identifying deceased individuals using their oral and dental structures. Furthermore, human identification could be a challenging procedure in catastrophic disasters and mass fatality incidents in terms of decomposed and skeletonized human remains. Identification process can be applied using different methods such as fingerprint, DNA and detention. Gender-determination of the victim facilitates reconstruction and rebuilding in the profiling of a medico-legal case investigation. Gender-determination facilitates the procedure up to 50% for positive identification. Anthropology studies have shown that the sexual dimorphism of skeletal remains and teeth can facilitate the identification process. However, teeth are the hardest structures in the human body and virtually immortal as they can withstand diverse circumstances This study aimed to investigate sexual dimorphism of teeth by measuring the mesiodistal width of the maxillary and mandibular permanent canines in a sample of the South African population living in Cape Town. Two hundred orthodontic study models were used, 50 males and 50 females, between 13-30 years of age.
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    The validity of bite mark evidence for legal purposes
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Xu, Yuan Chang; Phillips, Vincent
    Bite mark evidence has been admitted into US courts since the 1870s. It quickly gained popularity after the conviction of W.E. Marx in 1974 for manslaughter using primarily bite mark evidence. However, since the development of DNA typing and testing in forensic science, the emergence of wrongful convictions has placed the validity of bite mark evidence admissibility into severe dispute. This mini-thesis is a condensation of the past ten years’ worth of literature on the latest researches regarding bite mark evidence. The theory of the uniqueness of the human dentition is analysed. The accurate reproducibility of bite mark on skin with regard to distortion is discussed. Some bite mark court cases, including wrongful convictions are explored. Inconsistent expert opinions and the lack of standards amongst practitioners are also examined. The aim of this study is to summarize the validity of bite mark evidence in the courts of law.