Initial stage of personal identification by dental status in Russia and tools proposed by G.I. Vilga

The year 2023 marked the 120th year of the first domestic, scientifically based work on forensic dentistry conducted in Russia. This work was Vilga’s dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine “On teeth in forensic medicine.” The publication of this work indicated the start of the century of forensic dentistry in Russia. Vilga provided the main directions for the future development of forensic dentistry: personal identification, dental injuries, and improper provision of dental care.

Forensic medical identification of a person involves obtaining objective information about the characteristics and biological properties of an unidentified object and comparing them with materials displaying similar characteristics of the wanted person. The theoretical basis for forensic medical identification of a person is forensic medicine and anthropology. In world practice, identification studies to establish an individual’s identity are based on the examination of odontological status, as a source of significant information for establishing the age, sex, and race of a person, identifying individual characteristics and establishing identity. Forensic dentistry is one of the new branches of forensic medicine. It has its own specific features and requires knowledge that goes beyond the scope of forensic education.

This article provides information on the initial stage of personal identification and use of tools required to solve this problem.

At present, many provisions of the doctoral dissertation of Vilga “On teeth in forensic medicine” remain relevant. Thus, the formation of personal identification by dental status in Russia is directly related to the work of Vilga.