The established importance of Forensic Dentistry for human identification, mainly when there is little remaining material to perform such identification (e.g., in fires, explosions, decomposing bodies or skeletonized bodies), has led dentists working with forensic investigation to become more familiar with the new molecular biology techniques. The currently available DNA tests have high reliability and are accepted as legal proofs in courts. This article presents a literature review referring to the main studies on Forensic Dentistry that involve the use of DNA for human identification, and makes an overview of the evolution of this technology in the last years, highlighting the importance of molecular biology in forensic sciences.

Oliveira, et al. (1995), previously used in a population sample from Northeast Brazil. Material and Methods: The accuracy of this method was assessed for a population from Southeast Brazil and validated by statistical tests. The method used two mandibular measurements, namely the bigonial distance and the mandibular ramus height. The sample was composed of 66 skulls and the method was applied by two examiners. The results were statistically analyzed by the paired t test, logistic discriminant analysis and logistic regression. Results: The results demonstrated that the application of the method of Oliveira, et al. (1995) in this population achieved very different outcomes between genders, with 100% for females and only 11% for males, which may be explained by ethnic differences. However, statistical adjustment of measurement data for the population analyzed allowed accuracy of 76.47% for males and 78.13% for females, with the creation of a new discriminant formula. Conclusion: It was concluded that methods involving physical anthropology present high rate of accuracy for human LGHQWL¿FDWLRQ HDV\ DSSOLFDWLRQ ORZ FRVW DQG VLPSOLFLW\ KRZHYHU WKH PHWKRGRORJLHV PXVW be validated for the different populations due to differences in ethnic patterns, which are GLUHFWO\ UHODWHG WR WKH SKHQRW\SLF DVSHFWV ,Q WKLV VSHFL¿F FDVH WKH PHWKRG RI 2OLYHLUD et al. (1995) presented good accuracy and may be used for gender estimation in Brazil in two geographic regions, namely Northeast and Southeast; however, for other regions of the country (North, Central West and South), previous methodological adjustment is recommended as demonstrated in this study.

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RESUMO Este estudo objetivou traduzir e adaptar culturalmente as questões constantes do instrumento espanhol de Análise da Impressão e do Impacto do Prejuízo Estético, proposto por Cobo Plana (2010), para sua possível utilização no Brasil, bem como validar tal instrumento junto a cirurgiões-dentistas da área de Odontologia Legal. Os avaliadores aplicaram o método, constituído de quatro quadros, por meio de uma sequência de dez imagens que mostraram modelos sem e com lesões (cicatrizes) maquiadas, simulando danos estéticos na face. Os quatro quadros, traduzidos e adaptados culturalmente para língua portuguesa, mostraram ter potencial para oferecer maior objetividade na valoração do dano estético. PALAVRAS-CHAVE