Classification and numbering of posterior teeth in bitewing dental images

The purpose of forensic dentistry is to identify individuals based on their dental characteristics. In this paper, a methodology to classify and assign numbers to teeth in bitewing dental images is presented. The goal is to using the result of this methodology in an automated dental identification system. In this way, proposed approach benefits of categorizing molar and premolar teeth and also spatial relations between teeth in jaws. The three main steps in the methodology are: 1. Deducing the exact location and size of the mesiodistal neck for each type of teeth. 2. Teeth classification using a linear model and 3. Identification of types and numbers of the missing and/or broken teeth. This methodology enables us to assign numbers to the remaining teeth using the universal number system. Experimental result obtained for this investigation on a database of 476 teeth, indicate that the proposed methodology is more advanced in neck detection, teeth classification and numbering, broken teeth detection, identification of the number and type of missing teeth in comparison with some previously published work.